British lawyer suspected of involvement in Greek energy racket released on bail
A British lawyer believed to be a key suspect in a criminal racket involving executives of the energy suppliers Hellas Power and Energa was released on bail on Thursday after defending himself before an investigating magistrate on charges of embezzlement.
The 58-year-old is alleged to have collaborated with the energy firm executives to set up two Dubai-based shell companies in order to launder hundreds of millions of euros that the firms are believed to have swindled from the state.
Five executives are in pretrial custody on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and breach of faith following allegations that the firms failed to pass on to the state 200 million euros collected from customers for the emergency property tax which is levied via electricity bills.
The lawyer, identified as A.C., was granted conditional release after posting 40,000 euros in bail.
