Ex-minister and his wife charged with money laundering

A corruption prosecutor pressed criminal charges on Friday against former Socialist defense minister Yiannos Papantoniou and his wife Stavroula Kourakou for money laundering. The couple have also been banned from leaving the country.

According to sources, the charge was based on an account belonging to Papantoniou, which was included in the so-called Borjans list of taxpayers with large deposits in Switzerland’s UBS.

Last month, judicial officials carried out secret raids at the home and office of Papantoniou as part of the investigation into allegations of bribe taking and money laundering during his term as defense minister after the year 2000.