The East PacificBoard

Sekkapis V. Omonia

“Does the defense have more witnesses?”

“Yes we do, your honour.” Yannis would rise again “We would like to call Kostis Ryoras to the stand.”

Kostis comes up to the stand. He is a tall, wiry man with a face that looks like it has seen all things, good and bad. He swears the oath, as all other testimonials have, and then waits patiently for the prosecution to start asking their questions.

“Mr Ryoras. What is your job with the DemGas corporation?”

He clears his throat, and begins. “I am an accountant who runs and manages the finances of the DemGas company.”

“How long have you been in charge of the company’s finances?”

“A little over… hmm… 3 or 4 years.”

“So you’ve filed taxes for 4 years…Just for DemGas, or other companies as well?”

“Just DemGas.”

“Right, so then you know what happens when companies aren’t transparent with their taxes in this country, correct?”

“Yes. I am well aware.”

“Were these consequences thought of when the rest of your financial advisors had met to discuss its reportings during tax season? Especially after Ioannis’s tax raise on companies like DemGas?”

“Absolutely. The tax raise and its associated punishments were always on our minds during tax season.”

“Was it on your mind when DemGas left out,” He opens the file belonging to the DemGas’ finance department seized in a raid. He takes out one of the tax forms, and places it on the podium in front of him. “...Around 950,000 dollars from its filing?”

Kostis is silent for a few moments, before answering. “DemGas’s financiers often under-reported our incomes or cut corners in that manner to save money where we could. Ioannis’s tax raise was too much for us to handle with ease, and many of the executives often feared that if we didn’t have extra money, the company would go bust to the punitive rates.”

“So, we turned to being dishonest to save our finances.”

Yannis got closer to Ryoras’ post, looking down at him with judgemental eyes “So you didn’t care, did you? As long as you made Ms Sekkapis richer, the law didn’t matter, did it?”

“No, well… not really. We kept the law in mind, but our finances were also our utmost priority as well.”

“I’d say that your records show that’s not the case, but I digress..Was the reporting your final decision?”

“It was and wasn’t. The executives often requested that I under-report our finances to the government, among other… less savoury… things.”

“Repeat that for me?”

Kostis clears his throat again. “The executives and I often asked for finances to be under-reported.”

Yannis would give a satisfied smirk. “No further questions, your honor.”

Kostis heads back to his seat in the courtroom, with a slightly anxious face. Did he convey the right message? Was Yannis inclined to believe he was complicit in all of this?

He waits and watches on, as the next testimonial is called to the stand.