Hiscox manager faces Greek perjury charge over extradition case

ATHENS/LONDON – A manager astatine London-listed insurer Hiscox faces a transgression complaint of providing mendacious testimony during an attempted extradition of a erstwhile workfellow from Greece to Bermuda, tribunal proceedings and filings seen by Reuters show.

An Athens authoritative alleges the manager, who cannot beryllium named under Greek law, submitted mendacious grounds successful 2019 and 2020 that was sent to Greece to support a petition from Bermuda for the extradition of Yuval Abraham, a erstwhile CFO of Bermuda-based Hiscox unit Hiscox Services Ltd (HSL), tribunal filings show.

The Greek case, which has not been antecedently reported, follows whistleblower retaliation claims and an eight-year pursuit of Abraham by Hiscox done courts successful Bermuda, Britain, the United States, South Africa and Greece implicit allegations helium embezzled astir $1.8 cardinal to bargain luxury Swiss watches.

A lawyer for the Hiscox manager told ⁠an Athens tribunal proceeding connected March 4 that his lawsuit denied ⁠wrongdoing and that the lawsuit should beryllium struck retired due to the fact that a tribunal summons had been served successful Greek alternatively than English.

“The entirety of what (my client) has testified arsenic portion of the extradition process … corresponds to the truth,” the manager’s defence lawyer Ioannis Androulakis told the judge.

The manager faces a misdemeanour complaint of giving mendacious testimony, ​punishable by a good and up to three years ⁠in prison.

Bermuda-headquartered Hiscox, 1 of the largest members of the Lloyd’s of London commercialized security market, declined to remark connected the case.

Zoe Konstantopoulou, a lawyer representing Abraham who is besides person of a governmental party, told Greece’s parliament successful May 2025 that ⁠her lawsuit was a “victim of a very superior corruption case.”

Konstantopoulou told ‌the tribunal connected ⁠March 4 that Abraham had been a “very promising, elder executive” who was framed aft refusing to turn a unsighted oculus to tax instrumentality violations astatine work.

The adjacent proceeding successful the case, which was prompted by a suit filed successful 2021 by Abraham against the manager, is owed connected April 21.

Alleged swiss watch fraud

Abraham alleges, without citing evidence, that helium stumbled crossed a fraud successful 2017 that resulted successful “astronomical profits” from the non-payment of tax owed ‌to other, unidentified states.

As a result, Abraham refused to motion disconnected connected the 2017 yearly accounts of a Hiscox subsidiary, that suit shows.

Reuters could not independently verify Abraham’s account.

Hiscox declined to remark connected the tax fraud allegations.

Three Hiscox subsidiaries, including HSL, alleged Abraham used fake invoices for sham consulting services to siphon currency from Hiscox accounts to ​buy luxury watches and accessories betwixt June 2017 and February 2018, tribunal filings and nationalist judgments successful Bermuda and London show.

Abraham, a 45-year-old national of Israel, South Africa and Poland who was fired successful 2018, denied wrongdoing successful the 2021 counterclaim, alleging that the lawsuit against him was designed to soundlessness him aft helium blew the whistle internally.

Referring the lawsuit to ‌trial, the Greek authoritative said Abraham had not committed ​fraud, had not supervised the invoices and payments helium had been accused of procuring and did not person sole authorization to motion such transactions, tribunal documents show.

Worldwide plus freezes

HSL, Hiscox Agency and Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda) secured a civil, summary ⁠judgment successful Bermuda’s Supreme Court against Abraham successful October 2018.

This ordered him to ‌pay astir $1.5 cardinal and 334,000 Swiss francs ($427,600), positive interest, nationalist judgments show. Courts successful Bermuda, New York and London besides imposed asset-freezing orders successful 2018 and 2019, nationalist judgments ​show.

In July 2019, constabulary successful Bermuda said Abraham had absconded earlier helium could beryllium seized connected charges of obtaining wealth transfers by deception, mendacious accounting, wealth laundering and different ‌offences.

Abraham was ⁠arrested astatine ⁠Athens airdrome successful August 2019 connected an Interpol Red Notice, tribunal documents show.

He spent astir 12 ​months successful a high-security jail, from where helium sought asylum successful Greece, earlier the Greek Justice Ninistry declared successful 2021 that Bermuda had nary powerfulness to ​request his extradition, ineligible filings show. [Reuters]