Commenting on the decision by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association late on Friday that Greece's bond-swap deal constituted a 'credit event', thus triggering payment of so-called credit default swaps (CDS), leader of the "Independent Hellenes" movement, Panos Kammenos said that after raising awareness about the issue for the past two-years but to no avail, because everything he feared for Greece (as well as predicted) materialized. Speaking to a reporter on ERT3 on Friday night Panos Kammenos said that no one has formally replied to the allegations he has made about this subject in the Greek parliament, while the prosecution investigating the issue has yet to receive proper explanations as of yet. "Who bought them (the CDS), who profited from them and with what type of inside information," says Kammenos.
Indeed. when George Papandreou came to power in Oct-2009 the Greek Post Bank had invested in CDS worth 1 Billion euros. The bank then sold these CDS in Dec-2009, about the time when former finance minister George Papakonstantinou began characterizing the Greek economy a "sinking titanic" and during a period when George Papandreou himself was claiming that he was governing a corrupt country while he was secretly negotiating with the IMF about a possible bailout deal, as revealed by its former director D.Strauss Khan.
Kammenos had said that the investment company UNIGESTION apparently bought the CDS that the Greek Post bank sold. So the obvious question is, why is all of this so scandalous and why should we be suspicious?
Well, at that time the price of the CDS was very low. and UNIGESTION was apparently promoting the CDS to its list of rich clients in a number of European countries, as well as Greece!
So the company that George Papandreou's own brother works for was selling CDS in a period when George Papandreou was defaming Greece and giving fuel to the markets to make speculative attacks. The negative campaign that followed (by Papandreou and George Papakonstantinou) helped raise the value of the CDS.
How much more? Well in November, 2011, this CDS was thought to be worth about 26 Billion Euros. Imagine what it is worth now that a credit event has occurred?. Again, take into the consideration the timing of all of this, this is what everyone should really question. So when Kammenos says that the issue of inside information is more that obvious he is right, if someone takes into consideration the timing of this transaction.
Also, says Kammenos, another key issue should be questioned as well. Why didn't the state owned bank hang on to the CDS when there were speculative attacks already occurring against Greece (via the use of CDS) by the markets?
What more do judicial authorities need to finally crack this case open? Instead of holding on to the CDS and actively participating in the protection of the Greek public finance from speculative attacks they sold it!
Presently, the case is being probed by a public prosecutor (for economic crimes).
Note to readers - We have included another video that was broadcasted a little before Kammenos' interview on ERT3, by Terence Quick on KONTRAchannel
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