Court rejects charges tied to unsecured bank loans

An Athens court on Wednesday cleared shipowner Victor Restis and 10 former banking executives who had been charged with breach of faith in connection with loans granted by First Business Bank from 2009 to 2011.

Restis, who was the now-defunct lender’s main shareholder, and his co-defendants had been accused of issuing 61 million dollars in loans without the necessary guarantees.

However, the court found that there was no evidence to substantiate the charges, deeming that the loans had been secured and that the bank’s subsequent financial problems were attributable to the country’s financial crisis, not management decisions relating to the loans it issued.