MW:Greek statistics head faces criminal probe: report
By MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Andreas Georgiou, head of Greece's new statistics agency, Elstat, faces a criminal investigation into allegations the agency inflated the size of the country's deficit, the Financial Times reported Monday. The probe follows a dispute over the agency's decision to revise up the nation's 2009 deficit figure to 15.8% of gross domestic product from 13.4%, the report said. The prosecutor cites a claim by a former Elstat statistician that the figure was exaggerated in order to force the adoption of austerity measures, the report said. Georgiou denies any wrongdoing. "I am being prosecuted for not cooking the books," he told the newspaper. If convicted of betraying the nation's interests, Georgiou could face life imprisonment, the report said.
