A three-member Appeal Court in Athens announced the penalties for 21 defendants who have been found guilty to be involved in the famous Greek-German scandal of Submarines kickbacks. The court imposed prison sentences to 20 of the defendants as the 21st, a French-Swiss banker, is on the run.
The former banker Jean-Claude Oswald broke the electronic monitoring bracelet and disappeared since last November. The man could have quietly wait for the trial and sentence as all defendants received suspended sentences towards a juicy sum of money. Oswald, for example, was sentenced in absentia to 5 years imprisonment, redeemable at 10 euros per day.
The highest sentence imposed was 20 years for the former head of Skaramangas Shipyards. He will be out of prison once he “buys” his sentence with 2.5 million euros.
Other sentences start from 5 years imprisonment and were imposed to a businessman and a shipowner, an arms dealer, a former director in charge of procurement at the Defence Ministry and probably other small fish.
The kickbacks were paid by German HDW-Ferrostaal for the acquisition of four submarines when Akis Tsochatzopoulos was Defense Minister. he is out of prison as well for health reasons.
