ELSTAT chief defends record

Andreas Georgiou, the head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), issued a statement on Thursday defending his record after being informed earlier this week that he would face a criminal inquiry over his handling of the 2009 deficit.

Georgiou explained the European Commission had expressed reservations about ELSTAT’s figures between 2004 and 2010 but had approved all its statistics since then. Georgiou took over in August 2010.

He also points out that he assumed his role after the Greek government had agreed a bailout with the EU and IMF “based on statistics that had been compiled and disseminated by predecessors.”

Georgiou also said he wondered why he was being investigated when there was no probe into the years during which Greek fiscal data was being questioned.

Source: ekathimerini.com