Gov’t denies hiring German consultants

The Greek government on Saturday denied press reports of having hired the services of, or engaging in any kind of paid collaboration with, German consulting firm Goetzpartners.

The move came after daily Ta Nea reported that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis had worked with the German company on an Eastern German privatization model which was eventually shelved by the Greek premier.

According to the government, the German consultants had also offered their services to previous Greek governments, with regard to providing assistance and expertise in negotiations with the country’s lenders. The government said the company’s proposals and the credibility of its contacts were deemed to be “inadequate.”