Michalis Christoforakos

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 prosecutor in the trial of suspects implicated in the Siemens cash-for-contracts scandal has called for 22 out of 54 defendants to be cleared of bribery charges and to only face charges of money laundering, citing the provisions of the country's new penal code.

The prosecutor, Eleni Skeparnia, noted that the new code changes the charge of active bribery to a misdemeanor.

The prosecutor in the trial of suspects implicated in the Siemens cash-for-contracts scandal has called for 22 out of 54 defendants to be cleared of bribery charges and to only face charges of money laundering, citing the provisions of the country's new penal code.

The prosecutor, Eleni Skeparnia, noted that the new code changes the charge of active bribery to a misdemeanor.

Former Siemens executive Michalis Christoforakos and another 17 defendants accused of bribing Greek officials to buy the C4I surveillance system have been indicted to stand trial before a Court of Criminals Appeals, in a decision made by the Greek appellate judges’ council on Wednesday.

An appeals court prosecutor on Thursday called for former Siemens Hellas executive Michalis Christoforakos and another 17 people to be indicted to trial in connection with the Greek state's acquisition of the C4I security system for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras clashed in Parliament on Friday with the leader of centrist Potami, Stavros Theodorakis, in a debate about the government's declared war on corruption.

A key witness in the Siemens bribery scandal trial, the ex-secretary of former Siemens executive Michalis Christoforakos, has claimed to have fallen victim to a violent assault by an unidentified man, sources indicated late 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.