The former Minister of Maritime Affairs becomes CEO of the country's largest shipyard. The government’s Director of the National Recovery & Resilience Fund becomes an executive at a company that had received millions from the Fund. Solomon investigates conflict of interest issues regarding executives who transfer from the public to the private sector.
From November 2020 to July 2023, Nikos Mantzoufas served as Governor of the Special Service for the Coordination of the Recovery & Resilience Fund, through which tens of billions of euros in EU funding were allocated to the Greek state for investments and infrastructure projects.
According to the organizational chart, the highest position of the Fund is Governor.
A few months later, in January 2024, Mantzoufas was hired by the Sunlight Group, a “world-leading technology company, powering innovative energy solutions.” Sunlight had secured €245 million in funding from the Recovery & Resilience Fund for investments, including a large lithium battery production plant (gigafactory) in Western Macedonia – however, the investment was recently canceled, raising questions from some MPs.
Sunlight had secured the financing during the period when Nikos Mantzoufas headed the Fund.
Is it a conflict of interest when Mantzoufas, within a few months, goes from working for a public entity to a private company − one which received €245 million from the Fund which he formerly managed?
Greek law stipulates that for one year, regardless of the reason for their departure, senior state officials – government officials, transferees, special advisors, etc. – must obtain permission “for any professional or business activity related to the activity of the body to which they were appointed, if this may create a conflict of interest situation.”
The Ethics Committee of the National Transparency Authority (NTA), responsible for examining these requests, confirmed to Solomon that Mantzoufas had not requested permission to engage in other, private business activity. On February 6, 2025, the Committee decided to proceed further with the investigation of the case.
We addressed questions to the former Recovery Fund executive, but at the time of publication we had not received a response.
The issue of conflict of interest, which arises when key public staffers move to the private sector, is known as the “revolving door” phenomenon.
Solomon investigated this conflict of interest by examining the decisions of the National Transparency Authority’s (NTA) Ethics Committee. According to our report, and the analysis of all the decisions published to date:
The most characteristic case in which the NTA’s Ethics Committee could have proven its efficacy but rather failed, concerns Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, former minister and New Democracy MP.
Varvitsiotis was Minister of Maritime Affairs until November 11, 2023, when he resigned due to public outrage over statements he made after the death of Antonis Kariotis, a passenger who drowned while trying to board the Blue Star Horizon ferry in Piraeus, in September 2023.
At the end of January 2024, Varvitsiotis also resigned as a Member of Parliament. In the days that followed, he vaguely expressed his intention to work in the shipping sector.
Citing legislation, publications reported that the former Minister of Maritime Affairs’ status would prevent him from working in the shipping sector, speculating that he might have to resort to some ploy (e.g. working as an “unpaid” employee). But the NAT’s Ethics Committee presented a surprising rationale.
According to the relevant decision, there was no question of a former, two-term Minister of Maritime Affairs taking on the position of CEO of Skaramangas Shipyards, Greece’s largest shipyard. The justification presented was that the investment used to restart the operation of Skaramangas Shipyards, was supervised by the Ministry of Development and not the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
One member of the committee voted against, citing a conflict of interest. In his view, the activities of the Shipyards were directly linked to the responsibilities that Varvitsiotis had as Minister.
The only condition imposed on Varvitsiotis was that he himself, for one year after the end of his term as Minister, not represent the company in any meeting with the leadership or executives of the Ministry.
In a telephone conversation between Solomon and Varvitsiotis, the CEO of Skaramangas Shipyards noted that he is “the only former minister who followed the procedures established by the NTA’s Ethics Committee.” He added that the file he submitted to the Committee was complete and proved that, as minister, he had no supervisory role regarding Skaramangas Shipyards.
When the former Secretary General of Health Services, (who served from September 2019 to July 2023), resigned, he requested permission from the Ethics Committee to assume the position of general manager at PhARMA Innovation Forum (PIF) Greece, an association representing 26 pharmaceutical companies, aiming to promote innovative therapies in Greece.
In its decision in October 2023, the Ethics Committee explicitly acknowledges that, due to his tenure and connections in the Ministry of Health, he could exert influence on matters within his jurisdiction. However, despite reservations, it unanimously approves his hiring by the private company.
The only condition imposed on him is the obligation to refrain from negotiations and the procurement of contracts. However, how can these conditions be guaranteed and implemented? How can it be ensured that an experienced executive, assuming the position of general manager, will comply with the obligation to refrain from negotiations and the procurement of contracts?
In the press release, PhARMA Innovation Forum Greece highlights the applicant’s “significant work” during his tenure at the Ministry of Health, focusing on his contribution to patient access to innovative therapies and to the improvement of the Health System. His collaboration with PIF, it is noted, “will allow him to continue on this path”, in line with the Forum’s goals to promote innovative therapies in Greece.
In a written communication with Solomon, PhARMA’s general manager stated: “The Ethics Committee […] ruled that there is no issue of conflict of interest with my previous position.” He also emphasized that “it is my constant principle to respect the decisions of the Independent Authorities as well as the Greek Justice System.”
In January 2024, the Ethics Committee was called upon to consider an unprecedented request.
The former First Vice Chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission had just resigned from the position, in which he served for more than four years. The executive asked the Ethics Committee to decide on “whether there is a general conflict of interest between his previous position as First Vice Chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and a possible future position in any investment company supervised by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission.”
The Ethics Committee considered his application inadmissible due to its vagueness.
A month later, the former First Vice-Chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission returned with a new application. This time, he was seeking permission to assume the position of CEO as well as to acquire share capital in a newly-established investment services company.
The Ethics Committee rejected the application again, as it had been submitted before the official acceptance of his resignation had been completed. In March 2024, the executive resubmitted his request.
The Ethics Committee unanimously decided to reject it. The reasons were clear: there was a distinct supervisor-supervised relationship between the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and the company, while it was judged that the responsibilities he had during his term of office were significantly relevant to the activities of the position he was seeking.
Furthermore, his participation in the share capital of such a company was deemed to create a potential conflict of interest.
In May 2024, he submitted a new application. This time, he proposed to work at the same company, “exclusively as a derivatives trader” and without a management position, and no participation in the share capital or the board of directors.
The Ethics Committee finally approved the application, setting a condition, valid for one year. However, the condition raises questions about how practical it is, and how feasible it is to monitor and enforce. The Committee’s condition states that if a team from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission conducts an audit of the company, its former First Vice President must be absent.
Since July 2022, the NTA has been operating under temporary administration, with Alexandra Rogkakou acting as its Interim Governor, following the resignation of the previous Governor, Angelos Binis.
Citizens’ organizations have denounced the abusive practice of the “replacement” process, while the Ministry of Interior recently changed the formal qualifications for the position of Governor, in a way that was considered favorable to Rogkakou.
Stefanos Loukopoulos, co-founder and director of Vouliwatch, a non-profit parliamentary monitoring organization, pointed out shortcomings in the legislation on managing conflict of interest.
“The problem arises not only during the process of drafting the law, but also during the implementation and monitoring of the application of the laws. The lack of adequate or effective execution, the de facto practice of not imposing sanctions in case of violation of the law, the lack of adequate guarantees, the lack of transparency of the actions (or omissions) of the competent Authorities and the consequent lack of public trust in the actions of the public sector are some of the issues that have arisen over the years,” Loukopoulos told Solomon.
“The data submitted to prevent cases of conflict of interest, as well as the data on the monitoring carried out by the competent bodies in this sector, are not generally public, not even in the form of statistical representation,” he added.
Problems in the Greek legal framework for conflict of interest issues are also highlighted by Transparency International-Greece, an NGO that promotes transparency and the fight against corruption.
Its president, Giorgos Hatzigiannakis, told Solomon that one of the gaps concerns the unequal treatment of transferred employees, depending on who appoints them – either a Minister or the administrator of a Body governed by public law such as the National Health Services.
Furthermore, like VouliWatch, Transparency International notes that as far as conflict of interest regarding the more specific phenomenon of “revolving doors” is concerned, there is no information available other than the decisions of the Ethics Committee, which are accessible to the public.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in its 2024 recommendations to Greece for preventing and addressing conflicts of interest, proposes improving the framework for “revolving door” cases.
Specifically, it proposes uniform policies on cooling-off periods and a complete ban on former public servants from working in companies related to their previous duties.
There are examples of countries that apply stricter rules. In Italy, those who held high positions in the public administration cannot hold similar positions in the private sector for three years.
In Spain, companies that violate the two-year suspension period risk losing the right to enter into contracts with the State, if the violation is officially recorded.
Before you go, can you chip in?
Quality journalism is not of no cost. If you think what we do is important, please consider donating and becoming a reader who makes our work possible.
