In Brief
SIEMENS CASE
No holdup in Christoforakos extradition, sources say Contrary to reports yesterday, the prosecutor’s office in Munich is not recommending that former Siemens Hellas CEO Michalis Christoforakos should be found guilty of bribing political parties in Greece between 2004 and 2007 but individuals, sources told Kathimerini yesterday. A law passed in 1998 in Germany treats the attempt or the actual bribing of people abroad as equivalent to committing the crime in Germany. Bribery carries a five-year jail sentence in Germany but the prosecutor has recommended that Christoforakos serve one year and pay a 750,000-euro fine. Sources also denied suggestions the outstanding charges against the former executive in Germany would hold up his extradition to Greece. CRETE CRASH Man killed, woman loses baby One person was killed and a pregnant woman lost her baby in a six-car pile up on the Rethymno-Iraklio highway late on Sunday. The deceased was identified as a 64-year-old man from Rethymno but he was not named. Traffic police said that the 64-year-old lost control of his car and crashed into oncoming traffic. Officers said it was not clear what caused the man to swerve. The pregnant woman was one of six people injured. She suffered a miscarriage on her way to the hospital. An Italian tourist was also slightly injured in the crash. Fires doused A wildfire broke out yesterday in the Peta area of Kouvaras, southeast of Athens, yesterday near a spot that was only recently replanted by locals with the help of Skai TV and Radio following a previous blaze. The fire was put out before it could reach any homes thanks to the presence of 30 firefighters and a water dropping helicopter. A wildfire that broke out in the Kardamila area of Chios in the eastern Aegean was also brought under control. Blank notes Three men from Xanthi have been arrested on suspicion of running a scam in the northern city that led to several local business owners duped into giving the suspects money. The trio passed off worthless pieces of white paper as euro notes that had been dyed with paint so they could, they claimed, smuggle them into the country. They claimed that the would-be notes could be cleaned with a special liquid. In order to be more convincing, they proceeded to wash a few genuine 100 euros notes that had been dyed white, according to officers. The suspects then exchanged bundles of the white paper and the cleaning fluid for real cash. It was not clear how many victims fell for the scam. Campus robbers Police in Thessaloniki revealed yesterday that they arrested two men on Sunday after they had allegedly broken into the city’s Aristotle University and stole several items, including a stereo system. The men were stopped by policemen on motorcycles, who chased the suspects and arrested them on the seafront. Factory razed A furniture factory in the area of Tirnavos, near Larissa in central Greece, went up in flames early yesterday. Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze, which began at around midnight on Sunday, from spreading to adjacent businesses but the factory was totally destroyed.
