Corruption Case Hits Hard in a Tough Time for Greece
Prosecutors accuse the former defense minister, Akis Tsochatzopoulos, 73, a founding member of the Socialist Party and the highest-ranking Greek official ever to be detained on corruption charges, of pocketing at least $26 million in kickbacks for Greece’s purchase of submarines and missile systems and funneling the money through offshore accounts to buy property.
ATHENS. (New York Times). — When the authorities detained a former defense minister here last month pending trial, many Greeks found it cause for celebration, a rare case of a “big fish” meeting justice in a political culture widely seen as rife with corruption. Prosecutors accuse the former defense minister, Akis Tsochatzopoulos, 73, a founding member of the Socialist Party and the highest-ranking Greek official ever to be detained on corruption charges, of pocketing at least $26 million in kickbacks for Greece’s purchase of submarines and missile systems and funneling the money through offshore accounts to buy property.
The unrest here that has occasionally exploded into the streets — and is expected to redraw the political landscape in Sunday’s national elections — is usually portrayed as a reaction to the grinding austerity measures imposed on the country by its international creditors.
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May 03, 2012
11:10 AM