It’s been almost a decade since the start of the multibillion dollar corruption scandal at Siemens. The German judiciary has long placed ex-Siemens CEO Heinrich von Pierer on file, but now Athens wants the trial of the century to fly open.

The process is a stand against corruption and money laundering. Greece’s prosecutor is accusing von Pierer and other former Siemens managers, such as Siemens Greek manager Michael Christoforakos, for bribing Greek politicians and other officials – for years – so as to get public contracts. All up, a 70-million-euro bribe are believed to have flowed from Siemens to Greek decision makers to Greek telecoms provider OTE from 1997 onwards.

There are practical problems, however, that stand as obstacles to justice being served. Questions: How can 64 defendants and their 150 legal representatives all fit into a courtroom? Furthermore, the 13 German defendants have yet to receive the translation of their 4,592-page-long indictment though 90,000 euros worth of funds have been benchmarked for translation alone.

The lack of translation, that some would say is not sheer negligence, could lead to the entire judicial process being rendered invalid or postponed.

The European Court of Human Rights deems that basic translations in the language of defendents need to be provided.

If the trial actually manages to surpass obstacles, defendants may receive life imprisonment for corruption and money laundering.

Author: Vasiliki Kokkali