Phone records to be scrutinized
The magistrate investigating the alleged blackmail of former Culture Ministry general secretary Christos Zachopoulos asked for permission yesterday to inspect the phone records of the co-owner of the Proto Thema newspaper Themos Anastasiadis. The journalist denies any part in the alleged blackmail or that he bargained with the government over a DVD showing Zachopoulos having sex with his former assistant, Evi Tsekou. Magistrate Dimitris Economou wants to examine Anastasiadis’s phone records to establish the veracity of his version of events. Economou is also awaiting the results of a financial crimes squad investigation into some 5 million euros deposited in the journalist’s account at a French bank. Meanwhile, Sotiris Giolias, an assistant of journalist Makis Triantafyllopoulos, with whom Anastasiadis is now at odds, gave evidence yesterday about the alleged meeting between Triantafyllopoulos and New Democracy MP Costas Koukodimos. The deputy denies meeting with the journalist to convince him to keep the name of Spyros Kladas, the head of the financial crimes squad, out of the Zachopoulos affair. However, Giolias insisted that the meeting took place and intimated that there is an audio recording of the discussion. Koukodimos is expected to face questioning tomorrow. Another key figure in the case is lawyer Christos Nikolitsopoulos, who accompanied Tsekou to meetings with journalists where she allegedly informed them about her affair with Zachopoulos. But Nikolitsopoulos was admitted to the hospital on Saturday suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies. It is not known when he will be fit to make a deposition.
