Yiannos Papantoniou has been temporarily held in custody, while he is subsequently expected to be led to prison along with his wife, Stavroula Kourakou, after giving depositions in front of a judge yesterday.
Both hearing were long in session, as they began on Monday morning and concluded a little before 11 pm on Tuesday. The ex-minister’s sworn testimony reportedly lasted 12 hours, while his wife’s lasted five hours.
The prosecutor against corruption came to an agreement with the judge who ruled that the couple should be imprisoned after the evidence showed them guilty for laundering over 2.8 million Swiss francs ($AUD4million), during his stint at the helm of the Defense Ministry.
This makes Yiannos Papantoniou the second former minister from the Simitis administration (1996-2004) to be put in jail, after Akis Tzohatzopoulos – his predecessor in the Defense Ministry – was found guilty for the same crimes in 2013.
Papantoniou had served as a Finance Minister the mid-90s, subsequently assuming the defence portfolio until 2004.
According to the charges made against the former minister, the money that he transferred through multiple bank accounts was a product of criminal activities (relating to kickbacks from a contract to upgrade six Hellenic Navy frigates that was signed in 2003) and he moved it around in such a way so that it could not be traced back to its original source. Both Mr Papantoniou and his wife vehemently denied all accusations.
The damage to the Greek Republic by his actions is estimated around 400 million euros.
This case was once again brought up in Parliament to determine whether bribery charges against Papantoniou have expired under the statute of limitations.
If not, the case file will be returned to the judiciary and the former minister could face additional charges – which will need the testimonies of his former associates.
The statute of limitations does not apply to money laundering.
