Tsochatzopoulos Denies Taking Bribes

Former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, whose corruption trial began with great fanfare on April 22, said he never accepted bribes or laundered money prosecutors said he received from offshore companies.

Tsochatzopoulos, wo has been in jail for a year and already sentenced to eight years imprisonment for failing to declare his wealth, is being tried along with 18 others, including his wife, Viki Stamati, who appeared with him at the Athens Appeals Court.

The ex-minister’s daughter, Areti, who is also among the accused, was one of several suspects who did not appear. He said he did nothing unlawful while serving as defense chief from 1996-2001.

“I categorically deny the charges, which attempt to create the impression that there is criminal organization, a gang, which has the aim of laundering money and that supposedly behind all this is the Greek defense minister, which during six years did the best that he could for the country,” Tsochatzopoulos told the court.

Prosecutors said they had enough evidence to charge him with taking money in kickbacks allegedly received in order to approve the purchase of Russian TOR-M1 short-range missiles and German submarines for the navy.

The former PASOK Socialist heavyweight and his wife were transported to the trial from jail on a police bus. He was led down the vehicle’s steps handcuffed and clutching a file of papers.

Because of the large number of defendants and the intense media interest in the proceedings, the trial is being held in the ceremonies hall of the appeals court to accommodate more people.

The indictment claims the accused came together in 1998 to commit the crime of money laundering led by Tsochatzopoulos, 73, who allegedly took bribes and used it to buy property in Greece. The other defendants allegedly either helped him set up the system or also received part of the money.

All the defendants are being charged with money laundering, which is considered a “permanent crime” under Greek law and has no statute of limitations. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

The court session began with the three-judge panel reading out the names of the defendants and witnesses, and then called a one-hour break for seating to be arranged for the dozens of defense lawyers.

At the opening of the proceedings, the Greek state announced that it would be pressing for 1 million euros ($1.3 million) in damages from each defendant. After the day’s proceedings, the date for resumption was set for May 8.

The full list of those standing trial is: Akis Tsochatzopoulos, Asterios Economidis, Evfrosyni Lambropoulou, Nikos Zygras, Yiorgos Sachpatzidis, Areti Tsochatzopoulou, Viki Stamati, Yiannis Sbokos,  Nikos Georgoulakis, Panagiotis Stamatis, Pantelis Zachariadis, Oratios Melas, Konstantinos Antoniadis, Spyros Hatzinikolaos, Fotis Arvanitidis, Gudrun Tsochatzopoulou, Nikos Karatzas and Yiorgos Konstantinos.

Tsochatzopoulos was sentenced last month to eight years’ imprisonment for submitting false income declarations. He served in all PASOK governments from 1981 to 2004, including as minister for public works (1981–1985), the presidency (1985–1987), interior (1987–1989 and 1993–1995, transport and communication (1989–1990), defence (1996–2001) and development (2001–2004).