|
|
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-22
CONTENTS
[01] Appeals prosecutor asks for stricter sentences against convicted
Energa-Hellas Power executives
[01] Appeals prosecutor asks for stricter sentences against convicted
Energa-Hellas Power executives
Appeals prosecutor Grigoris Peponis appealed against a decision of a
Felony Court which he says issued a lenient sentence against 11 former
executives of two now-defunct energy suppliers, Energa and Hellas Power,
who were convicted in an embezzlement case.
Power companies Energa and Hellas Power withheld 257 million euros from
the state by collecting a special property tax levied through electricity
bills, which they failed to pay to the state. The accused received prison
sentences ranging from four to 11 years, with the court ordering the
imprisonment of just three of the former executives.
According to Peponis, the court recognized extenuating circumstances
which spared the convicted executives from receiving life sentences,
the sentence given to those who embezzle large sums of state money.
"The judges […] did not evaluate correctly the degree of the criminal
intent of the accused," the prosecutor said, adding that the recent ruling
should be "corrected" on the part that concerns the sentencing and the
recognition of extenuating circumstances. "The court should impose the
sentences which are appropriate to the seriousness of the crimes of the
defendants," he said.
|