During today’s 6th day of the trial at the Special Court on the Responsibility of Ministers, which is hearing the case of the television licenses of the year 2016, George Bassias, mechanical engineer, executive of the construction company “Toxotis” of the Kalogritsa group, and the journalist Demosthenes (Municipality) testified Vericius.
Mr. Basias was executive chairman of the company “Toxotis” during the disputed period of the summer of 2016. The witness stated that he had seen Nikos Pappa many times around the offices of the Kalogritsa group and had constant contact with the businessman, making an effort to help him get the television license.
Furthermore, the witness mentioned that Mr. Pappas was working with the businessman to get the television license. In a related question from the district attorney Olga Smyrlis, Mr. Basias clarified about Mr. Pappa’s visits to the office of the “Toxotis” company: “I don’t think he was coming to drink coffee.”
Mr. Basias was asked by Olga Smyrlis if he knows anything about the competition for television licenses and the role of Nikos Pappas, the witness answered: I have seen Nikos Pappas several times in our offices, he was moving around. I don’t know why he was coming. I know about the contacts and about the attempt to take part in the television licenses” and noted: “I know that Mr. Pappas was working with Mr. Kalogritsa to take part in the competition”.
Prosecutor: So what do you mean by “cooperation”?
Witness: I was never present at their meetings. I only know that there were many both in our offices and outside. I don’t think he came to drink coffee in Mr. Kalogritsa’s office.
Prosecutor: How do you conclude that they were cooperating?
Witness: It is my perception, I cannot answer you. This is my conclusion and from the events that took place during that period of the competition. I can’t answer because I don’t know. I can have personal judgment and opinion.
Prosecutor: We want you to tell us real facts.
Witness: The only real fact is that they had a lot of cooperation in our offices during the period when the specific events with the television licenses were taking place.
The prosecutor continued to question the witness, who became unwell and the court had to adjourn. The witness will continue his testimony another day.
Earlier, Mr. Basias had testified that he did not know about the agreement that the two sides had concluded, i.e. Toxotis – CCC, on the eve of the competition. However, he testified that on August 30, 2016, Christos Kalogritsas called him and instructed him to contact CCC (Consolidated Contractors Company) to give them all the documents they need for their accounting and continued:
“He gave me the order without further explanation” the witness noted and went on to say that the next day there was a meeting at the CCC offices and he was asked for a quote for a particular project. It was a 500 million project and they wanted a quote for the electromechanical. They gave me a one-pager. I told them “just one page? They told me it’s a dummy bid. It had eleven areas of work. They begged me to submit it immediately and on September 20th I sent them a half page bid of €262 million. No other paper had been given but this one page to concern the work”.
Demosthenes Verykios
Demosthenes Verykios, referring to the former Minister of State, said that “Pappa was punished by themselves, they have condemned him alone” and at another point he mentioned that “the system has punished him” for that and he has disappeared, “they will not see it again on TV”.
The journalist was asked by the president Ioanna Klapas-Christodouleas about the controversial meeting of Dimitris Kontominas with Christos Kalogritsa after the first phase of the competition and if he knows anything about the role of Nikos Pappas.
Chairman: What was the exchange?
Witness: Kalogritsas had the permit. No one wanted Alpha to close. The government at the time sensed the political cost and Mr. Kalogritsas would get a ready-made channel. They believed he was a “crazy” businessman due to financial problems and they could take the channel away from him.
President: Given that Kontominas was out of the competition, is there any chance that he asked Nikos Pappa to find a solution?
Witness: Contominas had not spoken to Papa in front of me. He had spoken with Tsipras, he had spoken with other ministers, he had never spoken with Pappa in front of me. And I don’t owe him, I know that Pappas had asked for my dismissal. But I don’t have to punish Papa, they punished him themselves. They haven’t let him go on TV for five years. They have condemned him alone.
The trial continues on December 21, 2022.
Statements of counsel
Statement by G. Mantzouranis, T. Mandas and V. Georgakopoulos, defense attorneys for N. Pappas:
“Two more witnesses, the journalist and close associate of D. Kontominas, Mr. Dimos Verykios and the high-ranking executive of Toxotis SA, Mr. Giorgos Basias, did not see and did not hear Nikos Pappas during the attempt by Mr. Christos Kalogritsa to apply for a TV license and acquire a channel.
Mr. Verykios pointed out that:
-“I never saw Papa in Alpha. Kontominas had not spoken to him. He hated him (s.s.: because of the contest), he had made him an enemy.”
-“I don’t have a single piece of evidence against N. Pappa for you to throw at him”.
-“The appointment Kontominas – Kalogritsa was closed after communication between the two. Kalogritsas called first.”
-“After the appointment, Kontominas told me: After all, Kalogritsas is not “theirs” (s.s.: of the then government)”.
Of particular interest was the report of Mr. Dimos Verykiou on the “targeting”, as he characteristically said, of N. Pappa. As he testified:
-“In our strategy to drop the contest, we had to – to visualize the rage – target Pappa.”
-“The channel managers meet, talk, have a common strategy sometimes. N. Pappas was punished by those who have the power and authority of the media”, stated the defense advocates of N. Pappas.
RES-EMP
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