Akis Tsochatzopoulos
| Akis Tsochatzopoulos | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
July 31, 1939 Athens |
| Occupation | Politician |
Apostolos Tsochatzopoulos, commonly known by the diminutive form Akis (Greek: Άκης Τσοχατζόπουλος; born 31 July 1939, Thessaloniki), is a Greek former politician who served as a minister in several Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) cabinets between 1981 and 2004.
Akis 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. He was subsequently convicted on 7 October 2013.
Tsochatzopoulos has held the following ministerial posts in the duration of his career:
In 2004, he came under strong criticism by members of the press and Greece's political scene in regards 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.
On 30 May 2010 the Greek newspapers I Kathimerini and Proto Thema publicized their discovery that Vicky Stamati, wife of Akis Tsochatzopoulos, had purchased a house for one million euro 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. At the time Akis Tsochatzopoulos had threatened that he would go to the courts, but nevertheless on June 7 the committee in charge of the case asked for the removal of Tsochatzopoulos' party privileges because of evidence found against him.
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 regards 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".
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