Prosecutor orders review of ex-defense minister’s acquittal

A top prosecutor has requested the annulment of a court decision acquitting former defense minister Giannos Papantoniou and two co-defendants of alleged bribery in a major money laundering case. 

In a 40-page document, Achilleas Zisis, a deputy prosecutor at the Supreme Court, said that the acquittal of the Three-Member Criminal Court of Appeal lacks sufficient reasoning, while he also allegedly identified an incorrect interpretation of some legal provisions.

The case will now be discussed in the criminal division of the Supreme Court, and if it agrees to the appeal, the case will be retried.

Papantoniou was accused of accepting kickbacks related to a 2003 contract to purchase six Hellenic Navy frigates during his tenure as defense minister from 2001 to 2004. He and his wife, Stavroula Kourakou, were temporarily detained in 2018 on charges of laundering 2.4 million euros; she was released in March 2019 and Papantoniou in April 2020.

Following a lengthy trial, Papantoniou, Kourakou and businessman Andreas Bardis were unanimously acquitted due to lack of evidence. The money laundering charges had already been dismissed due to the statute of limitations.

Kathimerini