A prominent Greek socialist ex-minister was jailed for graft late Tuesday in a 2003 case linked to a navy frigate upgrade, a court source said.

Former defence minister Yannos Papantoniou and his wife were placed in pre-trial detention for allegedly stashing some 2.8 million Swiss francs (2.45 million euros) from contract bribes in dozens of Swiss accounts.

Both deny the charges.

A 69-year-old economist, Papantoniou, was a key minister in successive socialist administrations between 1994 and 2004, previously serving as finance minister as Greece prepared to join the euro.

Papantoniou had been under investigation for the past 15 years.

In 2006, he won a defamation case against France's Liberation daily, over an article claiming that French defence contractor Thales had set aside a "commission fee" for him to secure a major security contract for the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Thales eventually lost the contract to American contractor SAIC.

Papantoniou is the second member of the powerful Pasok party to be jailed for graft, following founding party member Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who had preceded Papantoniou at the defence ministry.

Tsochatzopoulos was handed a 20-year prison sentence in 2013 for contract kickbacks but was released in July on grounds of ill health.

str-jph/nla

THALES

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Germany, Canada question continuing Saudi arms deals
Berlin (AFP) Oct 21, 2018
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Berlin would not export arms to Saudi Arabia for now in the wake of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's violent death. "I agree with all those who say when it comes to our already limited arms exports (to Saudi Arabia) that they cannot take place in the current situation," she told reporters at her party headquarters. Her foreign minister, Heiko Maas, had already said on Saturday that he currently saw "no basis for decisions in favour of arms ... read more