NEWS

Head of Athens children’s hospital arrested for accepting bribe

The president of Aglaia Kyriakou children’s hospital in Athens and one other suspect have been arrested on suspicion of demanding a bribe from a supplier.

Police officers arrested Haris Tombouloglou, a New Democracy member, on Tuesday. He had 25,000 euros in marked banknotes in his possession.

According to authorities, Tombouloglou had demanded the money from a private firm that had won at the beginning of 2013 a tender for a 200,000-euro program to run a program combating obesity among children.

The contract, however, was never fulfilled. A few days ago, a person claiming to represent the hospital allegedly contacted the firm and demanded an under-the-table payment so the program could proceed.

The company’s representatives contacted the police and a sting operation was set up. The money was paid to a middleman but most of it was later found in the hospital president’s possession. The alleged intermediary has also been arrested.

Tombouloglou had been a member of New Democracy for a number of years and had stood as a party candidate in elections. After his arrest, he was expelled from the conservative party.

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