Greece probes EUR 8m transfer by former bank director

(ATHENS) - Greek authorities opened Monday a probe into the legality of a transfer of eight million euros by a former chief executive of Greece's recently privatised Agricultural Bank (ATEBank).

Deputy Athens Prosecutor Spryros Mouzakitis ordered a preliminary investigation into the transfer worth $9.9 billion by a "senior executive" of ATEBank to determine whether there was any evidence of tax evasion or money laundering.

Theodoros Pantalakis, who recently resigned as head of the loss-making ATEBank because he opposed its privatisation, said Sunday on RealFM radio that he had "made a legal transfer of eight million euros which belonged to me and my family."

Pantalakis added the funds had been "declared, taxed and justified by my family fortune."

Many Greeks have transfered considerable parts of their savings abroad during the past two years as the country's severe economic crisis has raised concerns it may forced out of the eurozone.

Pantalakis' transfer was disclosed last week by the head of the country's central bank, Georges Provopoulos, during a parliamentary debate about the controversial privatisation of ATEBank.

Pantalakis is also due to testify before parliament about the bank, which was split last month into two parts, with viable assets sold to Piraeus Bank for 95 million euros.

The decision was made following pressure from Greece's international creditors, the International Monetary Fund and European Union.

The main Greek opposition party, the leftist Syriza, and labour unions have also demanded a parliamentary probe into the privatisation of the bank, one of Greece's oldest state-owned banks and one which played a key role in providing finance to the agricultural sector.