A chronology of the selection and appointment by the Council of Ministers of the five members of the investigative team tasked with examining the findings of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority regarding the bookby Makarios Drousiotis, “State Mafia,” which alleges potential criminal offenses against former President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and 14 other legal and natural persons, as Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou explained on the Alpha News program.

SEE ALSO: “Uproar” over Mylonopoulos: Strong reactions to the conflict of interest in the criminal investigation into the “Mafia State”

In the wake of strong reactions regarding a conflict of interest involving Christos Mylonopoulos, a full professor of criminal law at the University of Athens, who served as Michael Zolotas’s defense attorney in response to the Cypriot authorities’ request for his extradition from Greece to investigate the Focus case, Mr. Antoniou explained that the government first turned to Vasileios Skouris, a fellow professor of public law at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and former President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, who took charge of the team.

He confirmed that Christos Mylonopoulos, Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law at the University of Athens, is an “authority” in criminal law and that his contribution to the team’s work would be substantial and supportive.

“He was someone he trusted; he believes he can contribute greatly, and when the issue arose that he had served as Michael Zolotas’s attorney for a time, it does not compromise the process, because we will ensure that there is no issue.”

SEE ALSO: Letympiotis Confirms: The Government Knew About Mylonopoulos’ Conflict of Interest

He also claimed that prior to their appointment by the Cabinet, Mr. Mylonopoulos contacted Mr. Skouris and told him that, in order to agree to participate in the investigation, he had made it a condition that he not be involved in the Focus case.

“This aspect was brought to the attention of the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and since Mr. Skouris himself raised no substantive objection, we adopted his recommendation to appoint Mr. Mylonopoulos. This was not something we learned afterward; he made sure to tell us himself.”

When asked whether Mr. Mylonopoulos’s conflict of interest should have been disclosed, the Deputy Government Spokesperson replied that “he could have been excluded from that part of the process.”

SEE ALSO: Investigators into “Mafia State”: Setbacks and Questions About Conflict of Interest