Outgoing minister, sit-com performer admits to owning … offshore company

The latest “chink” in the now defunct coalition between radical leftist SYRIZA and the rightist-populist AN.EL party emerged on Friday when one high-profile deputy of the latter, comedic actor Pavlos Haikalis, admitted to owning an … offshore company.

The questions now swirling around this latest “mini scandal” in the last hour of the coalition government is whether party leaderships new of the offshore entity’s existence, and especially whether Haikalis will again be included in the AN.EL ballots.

Haikalis, a firebrand anti-bailout advocate before and after he entered Parliament who wound up voting for a third memorandum and served as deputy social security minister for a few weeks, is now due to meeting with Independent Greeks’ (AN.EL) leader Panos Kammenos the same day.

The latter himself was a firebrand anti-memorandum politician who, in fact, established his own small right-of-center party based on opposition to austerity measures and terms demanded by institutional creditors. He served as defence minister for seven months in the now defunct Tsipras government.

Haikalis finally admitted to owning such a company, based in Cyprus, after a series of nagging Parliament questions tabled by ND deputy Lefteris Avgenakis.

The existence of the company was omitted from mandatory means of statements submitted by deputies to Parliament and tax authorities, although Haikalis offered this explanation on Friday.

“It’s not an offshore company but a company to guarantee my intellectual rights for my movie and theatrical works that are performed on Cyprus, when I exercised the actor’s profession. There are no undisclosed incomes from this company, which as of 2011 is inactive,” the Greek TV sit-com performer turned politician told a local television newscast.