Once-influential Greek businessman Lavrentis Lavrentiadis faces new criminal charges after an Athens prosecutor accused him of committing fraud to the detriment of the state.
Along with another 11 individuals, Lavrentiadis is being accused by an Athens prosecutor in connection with alleged damages against the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) amounting to more than 115 million euros.
The charges stem from a lawsuit filed in December 2017 by DEPA, which claimed that the company Hellenic Fertilizers (ELFE), under the ownership of Lavrentiadis, paid its bills for DEPA gas with postdated checks that were never redeemed.
According to DEPA management, the debt has rose by 8 million euros in the last 18 months because the ELFE has secured temporary protection from the courts.
Lavrentiadis is also charged with forming a criminal organization with the intention of swindling the state.
“The once-influential businessman fell from grace after he was accused of embezzlement in the case of failed Proton Bank,” notes kathimerini.
He came out of prison for health reasons.
