Former priest Iakovos Yiossakis, accused of being at the center of a trial-fixing ring, was released from custody yesterday after spending some 17 months behind bars waiting for his case to be heard.

A council of appeal court judges ruled that Yiossakis could be released on 15,000 euros’ bail, provided he appears at his local police station once a month and does not leave the country before his trial.

The former archimandrite is part of a group of 24 people that includes lawyers and former judges who are expected to soon face trial for allegedly fixing court cases. A prosecutor’s investigation suggested that Yiossakis had a “premeditated plan” to befriend judges so he could secure favorable judgments and use his connections to make money.

During his time in custody, Yiossakis has been cleared of stealing antiquities from a monastery on Kythera in 1996.