SIGMA and Mesimeri kai Kati hosted the lawyer who starred in the new revelations of Al Jazeera. Mr. Pittatzis, among other things, claimed that it was not the fault of the one who closed the investment program of Cyprus, with a decision of the Minister and stressed that such a thing would not be borne on his shoulders.
"The anger and resentment of the people in what Al Jazeera conveyed was justified. Unfortunately, the comments I mentioned do not honor any professional. This indignant public opinion considers, as it appears from the article, that my intention was to cooperate with the specific brokers. Given this apparent intention, public opinion condemns it. But was that my intention? Should I cooperate? ”He asked.
"If my intention was to work with these people then because I just met with them last year I made an internal report in my office. If my intention was to cooperate because the next day I sent a message to the English broker. He (the broker) asked me, they want illegalities, what do we do? I answered him. I told them that everything is possible. To fish them. I have the message, from last year, not this year.
I will not say that I was honest, he replied. Let others say that. From the first working day after the incident, I called the bar association and informed them about what happened. "If you think it is serious, I was told to report it to the competent authorities," he said.
"The data collection process was started for reporting purposes. Messages were sent on the second day. On the third day I informed Mr. Pittatziis.
I was collecting information to give to the State. The law itself says that when something suspicious comes to the attention of a professional, it must be reported. I informed the authorities. His name, his telephones and from there on I put them before the State ".
"The work did not spoil for these people. They came to my office and the discussion concluded that we would receive investor information later. MOKAS when I made a report that sent a confirmatory answer ".
At the same time, Mr. Pittatzis characterized as non-existent and excessive what was shown in the video. "I told them once it happens, we will see. When I told them for example about the name change. "Why aren't you investigating whether there was indeed an internal report?"
The lawyer also wondered about the decision of the Council of Ministers to terminate the program. "The publication of Al Jazeera was an important factor in this decision. Revelations were made last year, I am not the one who closed the investment program of Cyprus. This is not the first time we have seen reports about the program. I did specific actions. I can not bear on my shoulders what happened in Cyprus. I took action, I tried to gather information.
I thought they were criminals, not journalists. If I did what I had to do according to the law, should I be stoned? If I did nothing what would be the reaction, he continued.
"In other cases, there was a suggestion for illegality, yes, as an office, we make reports. "I did not represent anyone convicted," he said.
"I will try to state my position. I will take legal action, Al Jazeera reports that I made a complaint, why don't you say so? No transaction took place ", said Mr. Pittatzis.
Source: Sigmalive