Former Laiki Bank Chairman and CEO Kikis Lazarides testified in court on Monday that he did not know of any money — amounting to several billion dollars – that were hidden in secret accounts at the bank during the 1990s when Slobodan Milosevic laundered money to fund his war.
Lazarides was called as a witness in a case involving a Serb businessman who is suing Laiki Bank, the law firm of Tassos Papadopoulos & Co and a ghost company, Antexol Trade ltd., because he lost multi-million dollar deals when his funds and UN-approved contracts were used as a front to help launder money out of
Christos Clerides, the lead lawyer together with Soteris Drakos, representing the plaintiff, Predrag Djordjevic and Genemp Trading, asked Lazarides on several occasions about the money, to which the former chief executive who was ousted after a recent power struggle in the bank, said that “there are thousands of transaction in the bank. The Chairman and Chief Executive cannot have full knowledge of every one.”
“What he should be responsible for is to have suitable employees and managers to follow procedures and to follow these completely legally,” he said.
“I’m sure that in the specific case the necessary permission from the Central Bank and the Customs Department were secured,” he explained, adding that, “to my knowledge nothing illegal took place.”
Lazarides said that the practice would have been not to accept money in cash or other without following procedures.
Following questions about the arrival of bag-loads of cash at Larnaca airport, Lazarides said, “if (the cash) was import properly it must have followed Customs and Central Bank approval. I believe this must have happened.”
He explained that there was a hierarchy pyramid that started from the assistant manager who reported to the manager who in turn reported to the General Manager.
Asked whether he was aware of investigations by Hague Tribunal Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, of the activities of Laiki Bank, Lazarides said he did now know.
Lazarides also denied any knowledge of the ‘expert report’ by Morten Torgildsen, special investigator of the International Criminal Court, mentioned that eight offshore companies’ accounts from 1992 to June 2000 appear to have moved billions and that these had funds deposited in Laiki accounts (about 1.03 bln DEM, USD 80 mln, CHF 63 mln, ATS 390 mln).
Asked if he knew of the USD 4-12 bln deposited in Laiki accounts by eight Milosevic-controlled companies, Lazarides said that he “did not recall” such amounts, and that he “was not told” of any such activities.
Lazarides also sought to discredit reports published in the Financial Times, where the reporter put it to him that companies were laundering money through Laiki.
“It was based on a discussion and not an interview. Besides, references to wooden-panels in my office are total lies. The only wood in my office were the frames of paintings. I did not consider the reports as credible,” he said.
As regards Beogradska Banka’s dealing with Laiki, Lazarides said this was one of 300 to 400,000 clients, while he said that he “had met” Beogradska’s former Managing Director Borka Vucic, but he did not recall when.
Vucic, a close ally of Milosevic, lived in
Pambos Ioannides, a senior partner at the law firm, also could not recall any transactions when he was in the witness box two weeks ago. Three more witness are expected to appear today and another witness from
The judge wants the case to be wrapped up by the end of the year.
