Christos Karavelas

Just two months after receiving a 15-year prison sentence for his role in a bribery scandal concerning German giant Siemens, a former senior executive of the company's Greek branch was released from jail citing health reasons.

Fourteen years after a judicial inquiry was first launched, the trial into the 1997 Siemens bribery scandal concluded on Tuesday with an Athens court finding 22 of the original 64 defendants guilty of a range of crimes, including money laundering. The sentences are expected to be announced on Friday.

The judicial council of the Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that 64 defendants are being indicted to stand trial in the large-scale political bribery case of the so-called 8002 contract to digitize OTE telecom?s network in 1997. According to the case file, Siemens allegedly paid 70 million euros in kickbacks in order to sign the deal.