"How German Companies bribed Their Way to Greek Deals"

[WhiskeyGirl]

Greece's rampant corruption is one of the reasons why the country's economy is in such a mess. German companies have taken advantage of the system for years in order to secure lucrative deals.

Miza and fakelaki are the lubrication that keeps the Greek economy running smoothly. Fakelaki -- literally "small envelope" -- is a payment used when Greeks need to be treated by a doctor or are having trouble with a tax auditor.

Miza, on the other hand, is the money that does not fit into a small envelope and requires something bigger, like a suitcase, or when the cash needs to be squirreled away in an account in one of the world's many tax havens. Without miza -- ie, bribes -- virtually no foreign company could do business in Greece. Large government contracts are particularly prone to Miza.

These deals often allow millions to flow through shell corporations around the world and back into the pockets of industrialists, civil servants, the military and politicians. Meanwhile, the payments are usually declared on the company's books as commissions for negotiating contracts. And German industry is one of the major players in the game of Monopoly Miza.

What about all the offshore banks used by those in the US?  Those secret accounts?  When will those folks pay up?  Have their names made public?  IIRC, the whistleblower reported many politicians in the group of account holders.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, German carmaker Daimler has paid Miza in past years to pave the way for vehicle deliveries to Greece.

How is it that the US SEC knows about Miza in Greece, but not about Bernie Madoff?

Massive Slush Fund

Investigators into the Siemens scandal have found that the company's Greek branch needed an annual slush fund of some €15 million. To secure the € 500 million contract OTE alone, the firm allegedly paid € 35 million in the Miza in the late 1990s. At Siemens headquarters in Munich, they spoke with great admiration of their branch in Athens for years -- hardly any other national subsidiary had delivered such impressive results.

Is this the 'Green' Siemens?

Investigators in Athens are looking into suspicious payments that were reportedly made via Austria, the Caribbean, Liberia and Cyprus.  The beneficiaries have yet to be identified.

Who owns all those European bank accounts?  When will their owners/beneficiaries be identified? 

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,693973,00.html&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhgIseSl7w-xgVpKHYW9cuJWXPNlQg

Part 2: Millions Paid to 'consultants'

...

In the case of KMW, right about the time when companies were invited to bid on the contract, a Greek tycoon established a shell corporation of Nevis on the Caribbean Iceland in the fall of 1999. The firm then concluded two contracts: a negotiating agreement with KMW and one with a firm called Evanston Group Ltd. on the British Virgin Islands, which was supposed to receive $60 million in exchange for the "acquisition of offset options."

Sounds kinda like a Glenn Beck description of ACORN and SEIU.

Top Secret

How, exactly, is a shell corporation in the Caribbean supposed to provide services in Athens? When these agreements -- which were classified as top secret due to their "political nature" -- became public, officials in Munich launched an investigation. But they have made no headway because the Virgin Islands refuse to cooperate.

Sound's like Dodd, Barney, and others investigating Wall Street, banks, rating agencies, Freddie/Fannie/GinnieMae...

Sound's like the problem with the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and all those special deals, balance sheets...

This has prompted a number of defense companies to turn to the German government. Their demand: If Germany is helping Greece, then the Greeks should at least pay their debts.

American $$$ pass-through to German industry?  Big European banks?

more here - http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,693973-2,00.html&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhgnNYgv5jh13enfzRtaTzy6Bpzt8Q