Arrested Greek editor - I acted in the public interest

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2012/oct/30/press-freedom-greece

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The Greek magazine editor arrested for publishing the names of 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts has been talking about his plight.

Kostas Vaxevanis told the Financial Times: "We acted in the public interest… We know the list is accurate. It refers both to legitimate accounts held by business people and individuals and to others that we believe were used for channelling funds for the purposes of tax evasion."

His trial for allegedly violating the country's data protection laws by publishing the list in his biweekly magazine, Hot Doc, is set for two days' time. If convicted, he faces up to five years in jail.

Vaxevanis claims that more than €13bn (£10.4bn) had moved through the accounts on the so-called "Lagarde list" between 1998 and 2007.

The file was given in 2010 by then French finance minister Christine Lagarde to the Greek government for investigation of possible tax evasion. It was passed to the French government by a former HSBC employee. It includes the names of shipowners, industrialists, artists and a handful of politicians.

Vaxevanis said: "Our understanding is that politicians, media barons and some journalists were able to exploit the list for blackmail and extortion because the government held off from launching a proper investigation."

<em>Source:</em> Financial Times