Marfin CEO, staff convicted over fatal fire
The CEO of Marfin Bank, the lender’s head of security and the manager of the Stadiou Street branch in Athens were handed 10-year jail sentences on Monday after being found guilty of manslaughter through negligence and causing bodily harm in connection with an arson attack on the branch in 2010 that left three employees dead.
An Athens misdemeanors court handed 10-year terms to CEO Constantinos Vasilakopoulos and security chief Emmanouil Pelonakis, who were ordered to pay 30,000 euros each in bail.
The branch manager, Anna Vakalopoulou, was given a prison term of five years and one month while her deputy, Anastasia Koukou, was cleared of all charges.
The convicts were not jailed as the sentences were suspended pending the outcome of an appeal.
The fire broke out after arsonists attacked the bank during a anti-austerity rally on May 5, 2010. Nobody has been charged yet for causing the blaze but the judge said he would be forwarding the case file to prosecutors for further investigation.
During the trial, the court heard that in spite of previous attacks and warnings regarding the branch, executives had failed to take the requisite safety measures.
