Akis Tsochatzopoulos

Akis Tsochatzopoulos
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
In office
1981–2007
Minister of National Defence
In office
24 September 1996 – 23 October 2001
Prime MinisterKonstantinos Simitis
Preceded byGerasimos Arsenis
Succeeded byYiannos Papantoniou
Minister of the Interior
In office
15 September 1995 – 30 August 1996
Prime MinisterAndreas Papandreou
Konstantinos Simitis
Preceded byKostas Skandalidis
Succeeded byVassilios Skouris
In office
13 October 1993 – 8 July 1994
Prime MinisterAndreas Papandreou
Preceded byIoannis Georgakis
Succeeded byKostas Skandalidis
In office
23 September 1987 – 2 June 1989
Prime MinisterAndreas Papandreou
Preceded byEmmanouil Papastefanakis
Succeeded byPanagiotis Markopoulos
Personal details
Born
Apostolos-Athanasios Tsochatzopoulos

(1939-07-31)31 July 1939
Athens, Greece
Died27 August 2021(2021-08-27) (aged 82)
Athens, Greece
Political partyPASOK
Spouse
Vicky Stamatis
​
(m. 2004)​
EducationTechnical University of Munich
OccupationEconomist, engineer, politician

Apostolos-Athanasios "Akis" Tsochatzopoulos (Greek: Απόστολος-Αθανάσιος (Άκης) Τσοχατζόπουλος; 31 July 1939 – 27 August 2021) was a Greek politician, engineer, and economist. He served as a minister in several Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) cabinets between 1981 and 2004 most notably Minister of the Interior three times and the Minister of National Defence during the Andreas Papandreou and Konstantinos Simitis governments respectively.

Tsochatzopoulos was a founding member of PASOK. He was elected to the Hellenic Parliament for the first time in 1981 and remained in seat until 2007. On 1 July 2011, amid accusations of corruption scandals, the Hellenic Parliament voted in favor of pressing charges against him.[1] He was subsequently convicted and received a 20-year prison sentence on 7 October 2013.[2][3] In April 2018 he was granted early release from prison due to deteriorating health.[4][5]

Political career

Vladimir Putin meeting with Minister for National Defence Akis Tsohatzopoulos on 7 July 2000

Tsochatzopoulos was a founding member of the PASOK party.[6] In 1981, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament and was a supporter of the Andreas Papandreou government.[7][6] Under his government, he served as the Minister of Public Works between 1981 and 1985. He was later promoted to Minister for the Presidency of the Government from 1985 until 1987. He was also the Minister of the Interior three times under his government.[6]

During the coalition government following the June and November 1989 elections, he served as the Minister of Transportation and Communication. Tsochatzopoulos ran for the PASOK leadership when Prime Minister Papandreou was in failing health in 1996.[6] He narrowly lost the leadership election to Costas Simitis who subsequently became prime minister.[6]

During the Simitis government, he served as the Minister of National Defence between 1996 and 2001.[6] From 2001 to 2004, he served as the Minister of Development.[8]

In Malta in 2002, Tsochatzopoulos was made an honorary member of the Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika.[9]

In 2004, he came under strong criticism by members of the press and Greece's political scene in regard to his wedding in Paris and the reception that followed at the Four Seasons Hotel in order to have a view of the Eiffel Tower.[10]

Tsochatzopoulos was unable to win his re-election to the Hellenic parliament in the 2007 election[11] and subsequently retired from politics in 2009.[12]

Corruption accusations

On 30 May 2010, the Greek newspapers I Kathimerini and Proto Thema publicized their discovery that Tsochatzopoulos and his wife Vicky Stamati, had purchased a house for one million euros from an offshore company on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, in one of Athens' most prestigious neighborhoods, only a few days before parliament passed a series of austerity measures aimed at increasing taxes and combating tax evasion. Tsochatzopoulos threatened to go to the courts, but nevertheless on 7 June the committee in charge of the case asked for the removal of Tsochatzopoulos' party privileges because of evidence found against him.[13]

In early 2011, following an investigation by a specialized committee of the Hellenic Parliament, evidence emerged that Tsochatzopoulos was also involved in the Siemens scandal. Among others, the committee statement included: "Mr. Tsochatzopoulos is being checked in regard to his activities in the capacity of Minister for National Defence between 1996 and 2001. The Committee combines the orders for defence systems that occurred under his leadership with the confessions of the people managing the 'black' money given by Siemens as bribe for the MIM-104 Patriot systems."[14]

On 31 March 2011, a parliamentary committee decided to inspect Tsochatzopoulos' assets, as well as those of New Democracy politician George Alogoskoufis and another former minister of the same party, on whose account deposits of up to €178 million were found.[15] The aim of the investigation into Tsochatzopoulos' assets was to determine whether his tax forms were truthful or if any other irregularities had occurred.[16]

In April 2011 new evidence emerged that tied Tsochatzopoulos to yet another scandal. According to the newspaper Real News, representatives of the German company Ferrostaal thanked Tsochatzopoulos for its being chosen to supply submarines for the Greek Navy before a deal had been signed.[17] Tsochatzopoulos threatened to go to court over the newspaper's front page, which he considered to be "insulting" and defamatory.[18] In mid-April, the parliamentary group of PASOK decided to create a committee to investigate the submarine scandal. Tsochatzopoulos accused the parliamentary group of acting in line with the opposition and of making wrong moves against him.[19] A few days later he asked the Areios Pagos (Greece's supreme court) to move faster with the investigation of his assets. On 11 April 2011, the George Papandreou government decided to expel him from the party.[20]

Conviction

A vote in parliament on 28 April on the creation of a committee to determine whether or not Tsochatzopoulos should be held accountable for criminal actions in the purchase of the German type 214 submarines was voted overwhelmingly in favor, with 226 of 300 votes in the house. Almost a month later, on 26 May, the findings on the committee for the investigation of Tsochatzopoulos' assets were published; they found that Tsochatzopoulos had lied about the value of his home, which was greater than his tax documents stated.[21]

On 6 June 2011, the committee decision in relation to the purchase of the German submarines was handed over to the president of the Hellenic Parliament.[22] The committee suggested that Tsochatzopoulos be criminally charged for attempting to pass off money obtained through illegal means as legitimate.[23] The same day he gave an interview to the Greek TV channel Skai where he denied all charges and said that the accusations were a plot against him.[24]

On 1 July 2011, the committee's suggestion that charges be brought against Tsochatzopoulos was passed in parliament with a majority of 216 of 300 seats.[1] On 11 April 2012, he was arrested on charges of money laundering.[25]

On 7 October 2013, he was found "guilty on all charges".[26] The following day he was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years' incarceration.[3] Tsochatzopoulos was transferred to Korydallos Prisons in October 2013. In May 2017, a court upheld his conviction, cutting his sentence to 19 years.[4]

Personal life

Tsochatzopoulos was born in Athens, however was raised in Thessaloniki.[7] He was educated at the Technical University of Munich.[6] In 2004, he married Vicky Stamatis.[27] He was both an economist and engineer by profession.[6]

Tsochatzopoulos suffered from multiple health problems and underwent heart surgery. After five years in prison, he was released early in July 2018 because of his serious health problems.[5] He died on 27 August 2021 at a hospital in Athens from a heart attack, aged 82.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Α.Τσοχατζόπουλος: Με 216 ψήφους υπέρ αποφάσισε η Βουλή την άσκηση ποινικής δίωξης εναντίον του (in Greek). www.skai.gr. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Greek former minister Tsochatzopoulos guilty of fraud". BBC News. 7 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b Kitsantonis, Niki (7 October 2013). "Ex-Minister in Greece Is Found Guilty in Bribery Case (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Convicted former minister released from jail due to ill health | Kathimerini". www.ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Former socialist defense minister Tsochatzopoulos in hospital | Kathimerini". www.ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Former PASOK stalwart Akis Tsochatzopoulos dies". Ekathmerini. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Former Greek Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos Dies at 82". Greek Reporter. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ Sakellariou, Aggeliki; Goutsos, Dionysis (10 June 2021). "Corruption in a Greek context: Analyzing a newspaper's discourse on a major political scandal". Discourse & Society. 32 (6): 746–765. doi:10.1177/09579265211023233. S2CID 236282940. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  9. ^ Borg, Bertrand (9 September 2011). "Medals of dishonour". Times of Malta. Retrieved 1 September 2021. Former Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos was made an honorary member of Xirka Ġieh ir-Repubblika in 2002. In April this year, the Greek Parliament unanimously voted for Mr Tsochatzopoulos to be investigated in relation to a submarine procurement deal worth €1.6 billion. Last month, the Greek Supreme Court ruled that, although Mr Tsochatzopoulos could not face fraud charges due to a lapse in the statute of limitations, he ought to be tried for money laundering.
  10. ^ Σοσιαλιστής της σαμπάνιας (in Greek). www.enet.gr. 6 June 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Πέθανε στα 82 του ο Άκης Τσοχατζόπουλος" [Akis Tsochatzopoulos died at the age of 82]. ProtoThema (in Greek). 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021. Διετέλεσε Βουλευτής από το 1974 έως το 2007. Στις εκλογές όμως του 2007 απέτυχε να εκλεγεί καθώς κατατάχθηκε στην 7η θέση ανάμεσα στους συνυποψηφίους του, ενώ στις εκλογές του 2009 δεν κατέβηκε υποψήφιος. [EN:] He was a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 2007. However, in the 2007 elections he failed to be elected as he was ranked 7th among his fellow candidates, while in the 2009 elections he did not run as a candidate.
  12. ^ Legge, James (7 October 2013). "Greece's former minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos guilty of money". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021. Tsochatzopoulos - who served as a minister in several Greek Socialist governments over 30 years - last served as a minister in 2004, and retired from politics in 2009.
  13. ^ Εκτός ΠΑΣΟΚ ο Άκης Τσοχατζόπουλος (in Greek). www.enet.gr. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  14. ^ "Η ετυμηγορία της Εξεταστικής για το σκάνδαλο της Siemens" (in Greek). www.protothema.gr. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  15. ^ Ψάχνουν τον "γαλάζιο" πρώην υπουργό με τα 178 εκατ. ευρώ (in Greek). www.tovima.gr. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  16. ^ "Έκπληξη" Τσοχατζόπουλου για τον έλεγχο του πόθεν έσχες (in Greek). www.kathimerini.gr. 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  17. ^ Πώς τα έκανες έτσι βρε Άκη (in Greek). www.real.gr. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  18. ^ Στη Δικαιοσύνη προσφεύγει ο Τσοχατζόπουλος για δημοσίευμα εφημερίδας (in Greek). www.kathimerini.gr. 3 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  19. ^ Τσοχατζόπουλος: Ατόπημα η προανακριτική για τα υποβρύχια (in Greek). www.tovima.gr. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  20. ^ Την Τρίτη η απόφαση για την προανακριτική του Άκη (in Greek). www.real.gr. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  21. ^ Φορολογικές παραβάσεις στην περιουσιακή κατάσταση του κ. Τσοχατζόπουλου (in Greek). www.skai.gr. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  22. ^ Τα υποβρύχια που έγερναν, η ΝΔ και ο ρόλος Τσοχατζόπουλου (in Greek). www.tvxs.gr. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  23. ^ Πρόταση Προανακριτικής για ποινική δίωξη κατά Τζοχατζόπουλου (in Greek). www.kathimerini.gr. 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  24. ^ Άκης Τσοχατζόπουλος (in Greek). www.folders.skai.gr. 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  25. ^ "Ex defense minister arrested". Kathimerini. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  26. ^ "Ένοχοι για όλες τις κατηγορίες Τσοχατζόπουλος, Σταμάτη και άλλοι 15 κατηγορούμενοι (upd)". skai.gr.
  27. ^ "Greek ex-minister's wife Vicky Stamati escapes hospital". BBC News. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2021.