Four out of six executives of private electricity providers Energa and Hellas Power were released on bail on Friday after paying amounts of 50,000 up to 200,000 euro. The four were arrested six months ago with charges including money laundering, embezzlement and breach of faith. The executives of the first two private electricity providers in Greece are accused of withholding some 200 million euro from the state. Greek media had reported that ENERGA and Hellas Power had collected from their customers in the form of “emergency property tax”, but failed to hand out to the Greek finance ministry, so the charges.
The four executives were in pretrial custody. Now free on bail are not allowed to leave the country until the trial will take place.
Two other suspect executives remain in custody.
When the scandal broke out , thousands of ENERGA and Hellas Power customers had to rush from bureaucratic desk to bureaucratic desk in order to reconnect to Public Power Company (DEH) and pay anew collateral money.
The private electricity supplier market found a short, quick and painful end here in Greece.
