The recently-apprehended Swiss banker Jean-Claude Oswald has agreed has expressed his willingness to cooperate with the authorities in their ongoing investigations.
The banker is set to testify on his involvement in two major scandals in Greece, for armament deals and Siemens, where he will face charges of money laundering, bribery and tax evasion. Mr. Oswald appears to have handled about 1.7 million euros that was handed out as bribes to Greek officials. A total of 34 are being charged in the case.
According to the Swiss banker, the funds came from businessman Panos Efstathiou and were related to the procurement of ASRAD antiaircraft systems by German firm STN Atlas. Mr. Oswald will testify in court as a witness. On Wednesday Mr. Oswald will testify on the commissions from the WEGMAN firm and for illegal payments that were made to the former armaments director Antonis Kantas.
According to the investigation, money appears to have been laundered via accounts held by Prodromos Mavridis at the German Dresdner Bank in Switzerland, before being transferred to other accounts in Swiss-based banks. Should Mr. Oswald refuse to cooperate with the investigators, then he will likely remain in remand until the Siemens scandal trial begins in September.
Mr. Oswald is believed to have laundered funds for politicians, businessmen and judicial officers. Amongst his clients was former alternate director of armaments Antonis Kantas, whose testimonies exposed the extent of corruption.
In 2006 the banker testified in Switzerland that when he visited Greece, he would meet in cafes, where he would receive suitcases full of money. He would then transfer money via the French BNP Paribas bank, where he worked at the time.
