George Papandreou denies mother Margaret is on Lagarde List

Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has denied claims that his 89-year-old mother is named on the infamous Lagarde List. His denial follows reports that Margaret Papandreou is being investigated by the Financial Crimes squad.

Margaret Papandreou is the widow of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandereou and mother of George Papandreou, who remains a PASOK MP. Reports that Papandreou's elderly mother "was the beneficial owner of a Swiss account containing €550m" (FT) has embroiled the family name in scandal. The IB Times quoted Nikos Lekkas, deputy director of the national Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), as saying Margaret Papandreou is "behind the biggest deposit" on the Lagarde List. A statement was issued by Margaret Papandreou denying the claim, saying: “Why such lies? Why such attacks? Perhaps because my family never served this country’s interest groups." Ekathimerini reported George Papandreou also released a statement targeting the two Greek newspapers that first reported the Papandreou link to the Lagarde list on Sunday, To Vima and Proto Thema. The statement said: "The publications... are clearly targeting me and the policies I implemented against all manner of political and personal interests." The Lagarde List was conveniently lost by current PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, when he was the Greek Finance Minister in George Papandreou's government.