Athens Wants Him Killed, Scandal Figure Says

A Greek banking tycoon who has touched off the worst political scandal in his country’s modern history is expected to argue in court papers today that he should not be extradited to Athens because the government there wants him killed.

George Koskotas, a former chairman of the Bank of Crete who fled Greece last November, said in a petition prepared by his lawyers that he has “strong reason to believe that he would be killed” if U.S. authorities return him to Athens.

Greek authorities have accused Koskotas, 35, of embezzling more than $200 million from his own bank. The banker has admitted skimming funds, but he said he did so on the orders of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, putting the money into accounts controlled by officials of Papandreou’s ruling PASOK socialist party.

Koskotas’ charges, buttressed by bank records and a tape recording of a conversation in which Papandreou promised to protect him from prosecution, have touched off a major political uproar in Greece.

U.S. Plot Charged

Papandreou, who faces a national election June 19, has charged that the affair is part of a U.S.-sponsored plot to bring him down. His government, the most leftist in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has frequently disagreed with U.S. policy on terrorism and other issues.

Koskotas, who was arrested by the FBI at Greece’s request last year, is being held in a county jail in Salem, Mass. His lawyers were scheduled to file his formal response to Greece’s extradition request in U.S. District Court in Boston today. A hearing on the extradition is expected next month--about the time of the election in Athens.

“Mr. Koskotas faces a clear and present danger to his physical safety if he is returned to Greek hands,” his lawyers’ statement charges. “Violent terrorist groups openly have stated their intention to assassinate Mr. Koskotas. The Greek police and security forces through the years have shown themselves to be singularly incapable of preventing such attacks. . . .

“It can hardly be doubted that Mr. Koskotas--whose death or disappearance no doubt would avoid great embarrassment and further political damage to the ruling party--cannot expect adequate protection. . . . “

Koskotas’ petition also asks the U.S. court to prevent his extradition on the grounds that the charges against him are political in nature. Under the U.S.-Greek extradition treaty, the two countries are not bound to turn over defendants accused of crimes “of a political character.”

Greece’s most violent leftist terrorist group, the November 17 Revolutionary Organization, has denounced Koskotas as a “plunderer” and has accused the government of trying to cover up its complicity in his deeds.