In Brief
BROKERAGE REOPENS
Stock firm implicated in bond scandal is allowed to resume trading An appeals court ruled yesterday that the brokerage house Acropolis, involved in a government bond scandal, could reopen for business on the condition that its owners’ personal assets remain frozen. The decision reverses a Capital Market Commission ruling shutting down the brokerage for its involvement in selling an overpriced government bond to a pension fund. The pension fund involved, TEADY, is seeking damages from Acropolis over its alleged overpricing of the bond. NOT SHIPSHAPE Two men arrested for selling fake speedboat captain’s licenses Officers from the Merchant Marine Ministry’s internal affairs division said yesterday they had arrested two men on suspicion of issuing forged speedboat captain’s licenses. A 65-year-old man was arrested on the island of Evia on Tuesday as he allegedly handed over a forged skipper’s license to an undercover officer in exchange for 600 euros. Two more fake licenses were found at his house. A 60-year-old man was also arrested at his home in Fokida, central Greece, where officers found 61 blank speedboat licenses and various official stamps. BODY IDENTIFIED Dead Polish woman found in Halkidiki Authorities in Thessaloniki said yesterday that they had identified the body of a 30-year-old woman found in a field near Hanioti beach in Halkidiki as that of a Polish woman who had been missing for at least a week. The body was discovered on Tuesday but a coroner was waiting for the results of a forensics tests. An autopsy conducted yesterday to establish the cause of the woman’s death was inconclusive. Police did not name the woman but said she had been working at a nearby hotel until about a month ago. Residents said that they had not seen her for more than a week. Casino trial The trial of 27 people arrested after a group of self-styled anarchists daubed red paint on the walls of the Mont Parnes casino on Mount Parnitha has been delayed until August 9 amid claims that policemen attacked one of the defendants and a lawyer outside the courthouse in Athens. Lawyers for the defendants claimed yesterday that the police presence at the court was excessive. Deadly heat A Spanish fisherman was found dead on a trawler anchored at the port of Limassol, southern Cyprus, while a second Spaniard on board was hospitalized in a coma, police on the island said yesterday. The death of Jose Uros Gianer, 38, was caused by heatstroke, doctors said, but they could not determine what caused his crewmate to fall into a coma. Another four crewmen aboard the boat appeared to be in good health, doctors said. In a related development, an 85-year-old woman in Nicosia also died after suffering heat stroke. Flat fee Two men have been arrested in Thessaloniki on suspicion of stealing 7,000 euros from two bank customers who had just withdrawn the cash from an ATM. The suspects, aged 21 and 22, allegedly used the same trick twice to steal the money from their victims. They let out the air in car tires of their victims while the bank customers were withdrawing cash. The two suspects then stole the money while their victims were busy changing the vehicles’ tires. Armed robbery Two armed men made away with 7,730 euros in cash yesterday after holding up a post office in Thessaloniki, police said. The holdup took place at around 10 a.m. and the assailants escaped by motorbike, police added. There were no reports of injuries. Heroin arrest Police said yesterday they had arrested a 32-year-old woman in Thessaloniki for possessing 3 kilos of heroin. The drug was concealed in 12 different packages in her home where police also found 126 unidentified pills. Police also confiscated from the suspect three mobile phones. Procurement charges Two men, aged 28 and 46, were arrested in Kilkis, northern Greece, on charges of enticing a 19-year-old Bulgarian woman into prostitution, police said yesterday. The 28-year-old man, a Bulgarian national, and the second suspect, a Greek national, are expected to face charges of procurement.
