The revelations by ‘Proto Thema’ weekly newspaper that politicians are allowed to own off-shore companies is causing a political ‘storm’. According to the piece in ‘Proto Thema’, article 178 of the omnibus bill, passed in Greek parliament last Sunday, permits MPs and Ministers to own off-shore companies, as long as their headquarters are in ‘tax cooperating’ countries, even if these countries are dubbed ‘tax havens’, like the British Virgin Islands, Bermudas or the Cayman Islands.

Major opposition party New Democracy issued a tough statement saying that the party that ‘stole’ the vote of the Greek people in the name ‘of morality and transparency’ were legislating in favour of MPs owning off-shore companies. The harsh statement blasts SYRIZA as being  the party of ‘hatred and division’ and that it is ‘shameful’. The party of the ‘Democratic Alignment’, made of PASOK and DIMAR called on the Greek government to immediately withdraw article 178 from the bill.

The Greek Communist Party ‘KKE’ said in a statement the article in the bill ‘not only allows MPs and Ministers to have off-shore companies, but also paves the way to legitimise older ones owned by politicians’.

‘To Potami’ (River) party accused the government of ‘washing clean the politicians who had off-shore companies and will acquire one on the future’.

The ‘Centrists Union’ party said the government was ‘committing a crime’ with the article, while ‘Golden Dawn’ called for the immediate withdrawal of the article.