Papantoniou’s pre-trial detention extended by six months

A council of misdemeanor court judges on Wednesday rejected an appeal by former defense minister Yiannos Papantoniou to be released following a year in pre-trial custody.

Instead, the council extended his detention for another six months.

Papantoniou was remanded in custody in October 2018, and his wife Stavroula Kourakou in March of this year.

Both face charges of money laundering to the tune of 2.8 million euros.

In a statement, the former minister contested the grounds for the refusal of his appeal, saying that he had cooperated fully with authorities in supplying details of his bank accounts and was not a flight risk.

Papantoniou has been questioned several times by investigators about accounts in his name at Swiss and Cypriot banks.

He has described his detention as unfair, claiming that “15 years of  investigations have turned up absolutely no evidence of illegal activity.”