Pavlos Polakis

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has lashed out at Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis, who handed over to the government-friendly newspaper Documento a transcript of a conversation he had with the country's central banker regarding a probe of a 100,000 euro loan he was issued by Attica Bank.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Tuesday stressed that the independence of central banks is safeguarded by European legislation and that member states have an obligation to respect this independence and allow central banks to do their jobs.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras on Tuesday called for a judicial intervention over the publication by Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis of an "unauthorized" recording of a telephone call from the latter to the former.

New Democracy has accused Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis of blackmailing the governor of the Bank of Greece after he leaked the recording of a telephone conversation prompted by an inquiry into two personal loans issued to the political official by a Greek bank.

In an unprecedented move, Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis made public a conversation that he had surreptitiously recorded with Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, whom he threatened because the Bank has launched an inquiry into a 100,000 euro loan that was issued to Polakis by (non-systemic) Attica Bank with unusually favourable terms for the borrower.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has called an emergency meeting with officials from Attica Bank to discuss a controversial loan that was issued by the Greek lender to Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis.

An Athens court has ordered Greece's Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis to pay financial damages to the family of a journalist for defamation of character.

Greece's alternate health minister has told the European Union's top health official to butt out after getting a reprimand for smoking in public.

Alternate Minister Pavlos Polakis was caught on video footage this week holding a cigarette while dancing in a club. He had also been photographed smoking at a news conference in 2016.

European Commissioner for Health Vytenis Andriukaitis on Monday expressed outrage at the disregard for legislation banning smoking in public displayed by Greek authorities.

Main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday accusations levelled by Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis against judicial officials handling two major corruption cases are an "unprecedented undermining" of democratic institutions, and criticized Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for not disciplining the minister.