Panos Efstathiou released, forbidden from leaving country
A former procurement official with the Defense Ministry, Panos Efstathiou, who has been implicated in connection with illegal payments linked to the purchase of Leopard tanks, was on Tuesday granted conditional release after testifying before investigating magistrate Gavriil Mallis.
Efstathiou, who has been forbidden from leaving the country, allegedly denied any involvement in providing kickbacks.
Nevertheless, the alleged middleman, who used to work as a representative in Greece of German firm Atlas Elektronik, allegedly secured his release by paying nearly 1 million euros into state coffers.
The amount is said to have been paid as a kickback to a retired army officer who is also implicated in the investigation.
