Former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos said his eight-year jail sentence for failing to disclose his wealth, for which he was also fined 520,000 euros ($678,350) was “political persecution under a legal cloak” and directed by the government to get him.
The former PASOK Socialist party stalwart, who had been ejected from the party, has been in detention for 11 months awaiting trials on a number of charges, including more serious allegations of money-laundering, embezzling and masterminding a scheme to steal as much as one billion euros ($1.3 billion) from defense contracts.
He said he would appeal the sentence although the Criminal Appeals Court which sentenced him said he would not be allowed to do so. He said there had been “orders from on high” for his prosecution and conviction, the newspaper Kathimerini reported. He was found guilty of failing to accurately declare his income on wealth declaration forms (known as “pothen esches”) between 2006 and 2009.
The 73-year-old was also found to have withheld from tax authorities his wife Viki Stamati’s 2009 purchase of a mansion on one of Athens’ most exclusive streets, under the Acropolis. The house, which has become a tourist attraction on a pedestrian walkway, was ordered confiscated by the government. His wife remains in detention as well on related charges.
The former minister faces a separate trial, most likely in May, for money laundering in connection to kickbacks he is alleged to have pocketed from defense deals. If convicted for laundering money from kickbacks, he is likely to face a much stiffer sentence.
His fall from power was illustrated as he entered and left the courtroom and found himself jeered by demonstrators shouting “Crook” and “Thief” and belittling him. The government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy Conservative leader, has vowed a crackdown on corruption.
Tsochatzopoulos’ conviction came on the heels of a life sentence given a former Mayor of Thessaloniki and New Democracy politician Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, after being convicted of leading a gang of former municipal officials who stole 18 million euros ($23.48 million) from the city’s treasury.
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