The scene has been set for possible criminal charges to be brought against the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, following revelations of his secret plan to establish an alternative currency in the event of the country leaving the eurozone.
The country’s most senior state prosecutor, Efterpi Koutzamani, ordered the Greek parliament to examine an array of complaints brought by private citizens against Varoufakis.
The supreme court prosecutor, who played a leading role in putting the far right Golden Dawn party on trial , also asked a magistrate to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought against non-political figures who allegedly hacked taxpayers’ accounts to set up the parallel payment system.
"I would not want to be in Varoufakis' shoes," the conservative MP and shadow finance minister Anna Asimakopoulou said. "I think that it is highly likely he will end up in a courtroom."
As a sitting MP, the economist-turned-politician enjoys immunity from prosecution. But the prosecutor’s move paves the way for criminal charges to be brought against him if parliament determines there are grounds to establish a special congressional committee to probe the allegations.
Judicial sources said the charges could range from dereliction of duty to overseeing the formation of a criminal gang. The latter was the central accusation brought against Golden Dawn, whose leaders are on trial.
The five-member team tasked with organising the alternative currency – described by Varoufakis as a form of parallel liquidity – could also face accusations of participating in a criminal organisation. The working group was headed by the well-known US economist, James K Galbraith, who was seconded to help Varoufakis until the politician's resignation earlier this month.
In five separate suits brought against him, Varoufakis has also been accused him of high treason, although legal experts said the charge would be very hard to prove.
His handling of fraught negotiations with the European commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – the bodies keeping debt-stricken Greece afloat – has been blamed for the tough measures imposed on Athens in exchange for €86bn of emergency loans from international creditors.
By failing to agree on a cash-for-reform programme earlier, the crisis-plagued country was forced to sign up to a deal outlining €12bn of savings rather than €8bn as originally thought. The closure of banks and imposition of capital controls – implemented under Varoufakis’ stewardship – are said to have wrought at least €3bn worth of damage on the economy.
A prolonged recession is now predicted for a country that has experienced record levels of unemployment and poverty since the eruption of the debt crisis five years ago.
In recent days even senior members of prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ radical left Syriza party have joined in the criticism, attributing the tough stance of lenders to the outspoken politician’s handling of the talks.
"With his loquaciousness, with his naivety, with his zeal to prove his ideas more than anything else, it seems that he hurt the Greek issue," the Syriza MP and vice-president of the 300-seat House, Alexis Mitropoulos, told Mega TV.
Varoufakis, who has retreated to his island home, has openly admitted to using “unconventional methods” to come up with a contingency plan that would have paved the way for the return of the drachma if Greece was forced out of the eurozone. But he also argued that it would have been “remiss” of him if his ministry had not also devised a Plan B.
He said in a statement this week: “The working group worked exclusively within the framework of government policy and its recommendations were always aimed at serving the public interest, at respecting the laws of the land, and at keeping the country in the Eurozone.”
On Tuesday, the European commission joined the fray , slamming Varoufakis for suggesting that he was forced to hack his ministry’s computer systems because the nation’s “troika” of creditors had exclusive control of the country’s tax agency. A commission spokeswoman described the claims as “false and unfounded”.
Varoufakis, the self-styled "erratic Marxist" also has friends in high places, with many saying he has been turned into a scapegoat. Writing in the New York Times this week, the Nobel prizewinning US economics professor, Paul Krugman, argued that it would have been highly irresponsible of Varoufakis had he not had a plan.
“The issue now becomes whether Tsipras was right to decide not to invoke this plan in the face of what amounted to extortion from the creditors,” he wrote. “ I think he called it wrong, but God knows it was an awesome responsibility - and we may never know who was right.”
Varoufakis responded on his Twitter feed on Wednesday, dryly referring to reports of treason charges. (Guardian Services)