The defense attorney Mr. Taxiarchis Koufelos stated:

“The curtain fell on a much-lauded case. We were unanimously acquitted by the North Aegean Five-member Court of Criminal Appeals, our claims were accepted, we filed all the documents that proved the innocence of our principals.”

Also, Mr. Panagos Koufelos stated:

“We have always had confidence in Greek justice, everything we have been claiming for 20 years has been proven. Because this case started in 2004 and ends exactly 20 years later. With great mental fatigue and suffering.”

The trial of the major scandal of the Cooperative Bank of Lesvos-Lemnos that led to the closure of the Bank in March 2012 has concluded. The Five-Judge Court of Criminal Appeals of the North Aegean ruled this decision in second instance in January 2024 in an extremely short procedure.

Of the 10 defendants, who were convicted at first instance. The nine filed an appeal. One of them did not appear to support the appeal and therefore his appeal was dismissed. Consequently, the original sentence applies to him. Another one of the defendants appealed but died before the start of the trial in the second degree. All the rest were either members of the Board of Directors. of the Cooperative Bank in 2004, whether customers of the Bank were found not guilty.

No, because disastrous choices were not made that led to the closure of the Bank, but because the existence of malice in the actions taken was not proven.

Only the manager of the Bank was found guilty in 2004. However, the court found him lenient and decided to reduce the sentence. In the first instance, the director was sentenced to eight years in prison, while in the second instance he was sentenced to four years in prison, which he will serve at home. The sentence reduction from eight to four years was achieved when the court recognized the mitigating factor of good behaviour.

We remind you that the case file for this trial was prepared in 2016. And the first instance decision was issued in January 2023. Initially, 57 people were accused in the case, former members of the Board of Directors, officials of the Bank and borrowers.

The long-term judicial investigation of the case of the Cooperative Bank of Lesvos failed to answer the essential question: What happened to the Bank’s funds and deposits.

There are many unanswered questions regarding the liquidation process of the Cooperative Bank of Lesvos-Lemnos, as for many years the shareholders have had absolutely no information about the development of the…