Five people handed suspended jail sentences in big corruption trial
Five people were given suspended prison terms of between five to 13 years for active and passive bribery and money laundering in a long-running case into a major trial-fixing ring.
A court gave former lawyer and ex New Democracy MP Petros Mantouvalos and the former appeals court judge Yiannis Efstathiou a 13-year suspended term.
It also handed a 12-year suspended term to Yiakovos Yosakis, a senior abbot. The other two suspects received smaller sentences.
During their investigation, prosecutors implicated dozens of judges, lawyers, notaries, accountants and businessmen, who allegedly asked for bribes to secure a favorable judicial ruling or confiscated illegally various properties of high value.
The case was opened in 2010 after a Greek businessman, Yiannis Boletsis, told judicial authorities that he was asked by Yiosakis, a mediator in the ring, to pay a bribe to influence judges in his favor.
