Alapis chief arrested
Yiannis Papavassiliou, chief financial officer at Alapis SA, has been arrested on a warrant issued by the prosecutor investigating the Proton Bank embezzlement case. Papavassiliou is believed to have played a key role in the alleged transfer of some 700 million euros in commercial loans from Proton Bank to companies controlled by the lender’s main shareholder Lavrentis Lavrentiadis. Lavrentiadis is currently in custody on charges of embezzlement and fraud.
Road death.
One person was killed and three injured in a road accident in Pella, northern Greece. The accident, involving two cars, happened in Krya Vrysi on Saturday morning. Police said a 59-year-old driver of one of the two vehicles, died in the collision. The driver of the second car and two more passengers were being treated for their injuries. No more details were made available.
Zigras.
Nikos Zigras, the first cousin and one-time confidant of former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, is set to be questioned by Cypriot authorities in Athens over the next few days. A Cypriot prosecutor wants Zigras questioned in connection to the island’s former Interior Minister Dinos Michailidis and Syrian businessman Fouad Al-Zayat. In his testimony with the examining magistrate investigating allegations of corruption against Tsochadzopoulos last year, Zigras had pointed to the active involvement of Michailidis and Al-Zayat in laundering cash from kickbacks for purchasing the Russian missile system TOR M1. Michailidis has denied the allegations.
Jewel heist.
Police have arrested a man suspected of being involved in an armed robbery at a jewellery shop in Peristeri, western Athens. The shop was held up by three men, one wielding a handgun, on Saturday morning, police said. They fled in a car after stealing an unknown amount of merchandise. The getaway car was discovered in the parking lot of Karaiskaki Stadium in Neo Faliro, south of Athens. Officers of the motorcycle-riding DIAS squad later arrested a man who was found carrying a gun. Police were looking for the other two suspects. No one was injured during the robbery.
Fuel theft.
Unknown suspects have stolen fuel from a municipal rubbish truck depot in Crete’s Iraklio prefecture. The suspects reportedly broke into the garage in the early hours of Saturday and siphoned some 600 liters of diesel from five vehicles. Reports said this was the second such case in the area over the past few days. Police are investigating.