Seven convicted in illegal lending scandal in cooperative bank
A court in the northern Aegean on Friday handed prison sentences to seven out of 10 people involved in the illegal lending from the now-defunct Cooperative Bank of Lesvos – Limnos, which caused the bank millions of euros in losses.
Τhe bank went into liquidation in 2012 after an audit revealed that it had granted loans to entrepreneurs without any substantial collateral.
The court sentenced one of the borrowers and the manager of the bank to five years in prison each, while two board members received a three-year sentences. Another three board members, who cooperated with authorities, were sentenced to two years in prison.
Three other defendants were acquitted, while two more suspects, the president of the board and the first vice president, have died.
Two more trials relating to the collapse of the Lesvos – Limnos Cooperative Bank are to follow.
