Judge allows Psomiadis out
Less than a week since he was arrested following a three-month manhunt, businessman and soccer club owner Makis Psomiadis walked free on Wednesday after judicial authorities decided that he should not remain in custody pending trial for match fixing and tax evasion.
Psomiadis, who reportedly told a prosecutor that he was willing to take a truth serum to prove his innocence of all charges, was asked to post 620,000 euros in bail until a council of judges decides whether he should be remanded in custody.
Sources said that prosecutors and judges were puzzled by the magistrate?s decision to release Psomiadis, given that he had dodged arrest after match-fixing charges were issued in June and he had an outstanding three-year jail sentence to serve for owing the state 300,000 euros in taxes.
The magistrates said that recordings made with the help of Greece?s intelligence service did not prove Psomiadis?s involvement in the match-fixing ring and that an examination of his bank accounts did not reveal any potential profits from gambling on these games.
