Άρθρο του Προέδρου του Χριστιανοδημοκρατικού Κόμματος Ελλάδος, Νίκου Νικολόπουλου
When Shame Becomes Law: The Mitsotakis Government Exempts Politicians’ Families from Asset Declarations
By Nikos Nikolopoulos, President of the Christian Democratic Party of Greece (Former Minister and MP)
Title: When Shame Becomes Law: The Mitsotakis Government Exempts Politicians’ Families from Asset Declarations
May 13, 2025, 11:59 PM. While the citizens of Greece were asleep, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government quietly introduced and passed, under the cover of night, an amendment allowing the spouses and children of politicians to participate in offshore companies—without any obligation to declare them in their asset declarations (Pothen Esches).
This institutional coup bears the signature of the Minister of Justice, Mr. Floridis, and carries the co-responsibility of the Minister of Finance, Mr. Pierrakakis. And sadly, this is neither an oversight nor a technical error. It is a deliberate institutional violation of every principle of transparency and accountability.
From Illegality to Decriminalization
Until now, the law explicitly forbade the participation of first-degree relatives (spouses and children) of politicians in companies based abroad. And rightly so—not only due to the increased risk of tax evasion and money laundering, but also because transparency in public life cannot exclude those closest to political figures.
What was once done “on the sly” is now legalized. Wives, children, and even “proxy owners” of politicians may now hold shares in foreign companies without even being required to disclose them. All this, with the blessing of the Parliament.
The New Matryoshka of Entanglement
Let’s break down what the Mitsotakis law now permits: A politician’s spouse sets up a company in the Netherlands. That company then owns an offshore entity in Panama. Within that offshore company, “dark money” from contractors, intermediaries, and arms dealers is funneled. The Greek asset declaration system only detects the Dutch company. It sees neither the offshore company, nor its transactions, nor the actual capital flows. And all this is now perfectly legal.
If this is not institutional entrenchment of corruption, then what is?
Iceland Ousted a Prime Minister for Less – What About Us?
In 2016, in Iceland, the revelation that the Prime Minister’s wife had an offshore company triggered mass protests and led to the resignation of the Prime Minister. Here, instead of investigating, we exempt.
Even worse: The new amendment doesn’t even include provisions to ensure that these foreign companies are not tied to offshore firms in non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The law’s half-truth is, in fact, a full-blown lie—one that paves the way for legalizing corruption.
So What Now? Will We Stay Silent?
The Greek people not only have the right to know—they have the duty to rise up when those demanding fiscal discipline turn Parliament into a tool of concealment.
The Mitsotakis government must immediately withdraw this tailor-made amendment. If it does not, it formally admits that it thrives on opacity and protects those with something to hide.
Democracy can no longer survive in darkness. Greece is not a colony of dynasties and offshore firms.
Truth—no matter how painful—will come to light. And the light will burn away the rot.
Nikos Nikolopoulos
President, Christian Democratic Party of Greece
Former Minister and Member of Parliament
nikosnikolopoulos.gr
η τροπολογια ειναι νομιμη;ποια η γνωμη των αλλων κομματων;