Greek bank sues Reuters over investigative report
One of Greece's biggest banks has filed a lawsuit against Reuters
claiming 50 million euros in damages over a story that exposed a series
of property deals between the bank and companies run by the family of
its executive chairman.
Piraeus Bank in Athens has sued both the
news agency, a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.N), and the article's
author, reporter Stephen Grey. The lawsuit accuses Reuters of malicious
defamation and of wishing «to harm the entire Greek banking system."
The
Reuters special report, headlined «A Greek banker's secret property
deals» and published on Apr. 2, reported Piraeus had rented at least
seven properties that were owned by a series of private investment
companies directed among others by the wife and two children of the
bank's executive chairman, Michalis Sallas, and financed by Piraeus bank
loans.
The lawsuit says: «The bank never bought or leased any property, particularly illegal ones, from its chairman or his family."
The
article was based on a study by Reuters of Greek corporate records and
company statements, documents filed in Greek land registries and
interviews with legal, accounting and property experts.
In a
written statement, a Piraeus spokesman said: «Piraeus Bank has already
started legal proceedings in the competent Greek Courts against Reuters
as a result of its inaccurate and highly defamatory report.» The
spokesman said the bank possessed «sufficient evidence and data» to
disprove allegations in the article, but the bank declined to provide
details.
Reuters director of global communications Barb Burg said:
«We continue to stand by our story. Due to the ongoing legal process,
we cannot comment further at this time."
Prior to publication,
Piraeus and Sallas declined to answer questions about the deals, which
had not been declared to shareholders.
The bank, whose stock price
has fallen 97 percent since its peak in 2007, is due to receive up to
five billion euros as part of a bailout backed by European taxpayers.
The
lawsuit says that the article's publication caused the bank's shares to
tumble 14.5 percent, representing a loss to the bank at the time of 46
million euros. The shares had more than recovered their value a week
later before declining again.
[Reuters] | 
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