Akis Tsochatzopoulos in custody

Both the prosecutor and the magistrate agreed on detaining Akis Tsochatzopoulos after his marathon plea.

The former PASOK minister is a flight risk according to the legal professionals, and could commit other criminal offences, too. At the same time, they also took account of the seriousness of the offence of laundering illegal income.

Tsochatzopoulos will be taken to the General Police Headquarters, where he is expected to spend the night since Easter Monday is a holiday and the prison is closed. Most probably, he will be transported to a prison first thing in the morning (Tuesday) but maybe not to Korydallos… which is facing a space shortage issue.

His lawyers made no comments when leaving the prosecutor’s office but, according to sources, they will proceed to a written statement to be published on Tuesday morning.

Tsochatzopoulos began entering his plea at 12:00 on Monday noon before magistrate Gavriil Mallis, and was questioned based on the memorandum he had presented to the relevant authorities.

Until now, the former minister has said that

- the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence, KYSEA, approved this purchase in 2000 and then, when he became Defense minister, authorized him to proceed. So, he asked that all the then members to testify but his appeal was denied.

- that he himself served as Defense minister until 2001 but the submarine construction continues even today.

- that he is being charged in a case already closed since 2004, when it passed though the Parliament Inquiry Committee, the members of which did not find any incriminating evidence against him.

- and finally, that the arrest warrant against him is illegal because he has never been unwilling to cooperate with the authorities.

It is important that along with Tsochatzopoulos 14 more people, among them Asterios Oikonomidis who is already being held in custody, the former minister’s wife and daughter and his accountant, also face charges of money laundering.