Tsochatzopoulos to return to prison as appeal rejected

An Athens appeals court on Tuesday ordered that former defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos be returned to prison after rejecting his appeal against his conviction for money laundering.

Last May, the 78-year-old former minister was granted early release, due to his ill health, from Attica’s Korydallos Prison, where he had been serving a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction in 2013 for money laundering.

The court on Tuesday gave him a 19-year term, obliging him to return to prison. It also upheld convictions for another 15 people, including Tsochatzopoulos’s wife Viki Stamati as well as other relatives and associates.

Of the 15, eight including Stamati are to return to prison though they are not expected to stay long as most of them have already served the bulk of their sentences.

The court is to convene again on Wednesday to determine the fate of Tsochatzopoulos’s assets which have been seized by the state.