He was remanded in custody, with the consent of the investigating judge and the prosecutor, following his testimony before the investigating judge, former referee Petros Papapetrou, who is accused in the Greek basketball match-fixing scandal.
The former referee spent about three hours at the investigating magistrate’s office, where he was asked to provide explanations both regarding the charges against him and the 820,000 euros in cash found at his family home in Katerini.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
According to reports, Papapetrou claimed that the money was obtained legally, while denying any involvement in meetings that, according to the case file, were allegedly intended to bribe him.
According to his defense attorney, the defense presented evidence to the investigating judge in an attempt to prove that Papapetrou was in different locations at the time the meetings in question allegedly took place.
During his testimony, the former referee reportedly claimed that all of the money came from legitimate sources, citing his earnings from his professional activities as a forest ranger and referee, as well as his family’s income.
He also reportedly stated that his annual income amounts to 1.5 million euros, in an attempt to justify the particularly large sum of money found in his home. As he claimed, he was in the habit of keeping significant amounts of cash at home, withdrawing funds from his bank accounts.
Papapetrou’s testimony was the first in a series of testimonies from the six individuals arrested in connection with the case, and the remaining defendants are expected to appear before the investigating judge in the coming days.
*photo source: protothema.gr
