Cloud of scandal lifting

Gov’t sees Zachopoulos case blowing over as magistrate prepares charges

The government believes that it has weathered the worst of the Zachopoulos case, sources said yesterday, as a magistrate prepares to charge several people linked to the alleged blackmail of the former Culture Ministry general secretary.

Following the testimony given by journalist Themos Anastasiadis on Monday and the investigation into some 5 million euros allegedly deposited into one of his bank accounts, government sources indicated that the ruling conservatives feel that the spotlight has shifted away from them.

The bitter public row between Anastasiadis and his former colleague and co-owner of the Proto Thema newspaper, Makis Triantafyllopoulos, has also helped deflect attention from the government and, in its eyes, has damaged the trustworthiness of both journalists.

The government has implied that Anastasiadis gave the prime minister’s office a copy of the DVD showing Christos Zachopoulos having sex with his former assistant Evi Tsekou. The journalist denies this but could find himself charged with breaching privacy rights if magistrate Dimitris Economou believes there is enough evidence to prove that Anastasiadis passed on the footage.

Tsekou has admitted approaching Proto Thema and Mega TV with the material but claims that she only showed the DVD to people at the newspaper.

Yesterday, Mega TV presenter Dimitris Kabourakis appeared before Economou to deny claims made by Anastasiadis and a report in Espresso newspaper that he had also seen the footage.

The lawyer who accompanied Tsekou to these meetings, Christos Nikolitsopoulos, is due to be questioned by the magistrate today.

Sources said that following today’s session, Economou will be set to charge Nikolitsopoulos and two other lawyers that Tsekou introduced to Zachopoulos. The lawyers allegedly attempted to blackmail the public official so he would proceed with the declassification of land of archaeological value so it could be built upon.