Antonis Kantas, the former Deputy Manager of Armaments, during his long-lasting testimony on Monday, gave investigators information about alleged bribes paid to secure procurement contracts as well as the names of several more suspects, some of whom could be called by judicial authorities to testify before the end of the year.
According to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Antonis Kantas gave anti-corruption magistrates Gavriil Mallis and Yiannis Stavropoulos specific information about the role of two businessmen in the supposed payment of bribes to Greek officials.
As reported, the former Deputy Manager of Armament explained to the judges how illegal payments were made to secure the purchase of German-made Leopard tanks and Type 214 submarines. He also gave information about the purchase of the German and Swedish-made ASRAD vehicle-mounted short-range air defense system, as well as the Russian-made Kornet missiles and launchers.
He described how money ended up in his accounts after being transferred from Swiss and German bank accounts and how a middleman left a suitcase containing 600,000 euros in his office. Judicial authorities already knew about one of the suspects as he was a representative of the German companies Rheinmetall and Atlas Elektronik.
Kantas admitted that he had received bribes of $16 million that were hidden in banks in Singapore and Switzerland for enabling at least 10 arms deals.
Prosecutors believe that after Kantas’ testimony on the corruption in the Ministry of National Defense, more people involved in the case will begin to talk.
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