Structured Bond Culprits Plan Appeal

After a trial lasting several months, the court said it would decide later on whether the accused would be freed or held on remand, but finally set all of them free, with bail (of up to 200,000 euros) imposed on some of those charged, depending on the case, along with restrictive orders. It added however that those who did not pay the bail amounts on time would be sent to jail.

The panel of three judges imposed prison sentences of 20 years on the heads of social insurance funds that bought the overpriced structured bonds in 2006-2007, and 25 years imprisonment on the brokerage executives and the bankers who intervened to arrange the sale.

The court also ordered the seizure of assets belonging to the main culprits in the affair, the representatives of the Akropolis brokerage, and imposed a huge monetary fine on the representative of the brokerage firm North Asset Management.

In its ruling, the court admitted the lack of a previous criminal record as a mitigating circumstance when passing its sentence, which meant that those convicted avoided a sentence of life imprisonment.

The court handed down the following sentences:

Agapios Simaioforidis, the former president of the TEADY social insurance fund - 30 years imprisonment, merged to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Panagiota Karadima, former TEADY director - 30 years imprisonment, merged to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Panagiotis Demestichas, former TEAYFE fund president - 30 years imprisonment, merged to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Gerassimos Konidaris, former TSEYP fund president - 30 years imprisonment, merged to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Constantinos Christidis, former TEAKOPA fund president - 30 years imprisonment, merged to a total of 20 years imprisonment.

Giorgos Apostolidis, Akropolis brokerage - 43 years imprisonment, of which 25 years are served.

Theodoros Priniotakis, Akropolis brokerage, absent from court - 43 years imprisonment, of which 25 years are served.

Giorgos Papamarkakis, North Asset Management, absent from court - 35 years, of which 25 are served.

Haralambos Adamopoulos, J.P. Morgan, absent from court - 30 years imprisonment, of which 25 are served.

Avraam Savvidis, J. P. Morgan, absent from court - 30 years imprisonment, of which 25 are served.

Nikos Bougos, Hyppovereinsbank executive - 15 years imprisonment.

Angelos and Dimitris Liatis, accountants - five years imprisonment each.

In addition to the prison sentences, the court ordered the seizure of assets owned by Priniotakis and Apostolidis up to the sum of 6.5 million euros as illegally acquired wealth and imposed a fine of 11.6 million euros on Papamarkakis. It also ordered Papamarkakis and Priniotakis to pay 500,000 euros in monetary compensation to the state.