22 / 36
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In particular, article 86 paragraph 3 of the Constitution and article 3 paragraph 2 of Law 3126/2003. The five-year
limitation period for misdemeanours and felonies committed by Ministers in the performance of their duties referred
to in article 3 of Law 3126/2003 on Criminal Responsibility of Ministers was amended, after having been heavily criticised,
by article 1 of Law 3961/2011 on Amendment of Law 3126/2003 on the Criminal Responsibility of Ministers and Other
Provisions, and is now subject to the main SOL set out in articles 111 and 112 of the Criminal Code.
The case of Akis Tsohatzopoulos, the co-founder of the Greek socialist party PASOK, a former Minister,
in particular Minister of Defence, for Greek socialist governments for over thirty years, is one the most
notorious corruption scandals in Greece.
In October 2013, in a trial that lasted approximately five months, the Athens Three Member Court of
Appeal for Felonies found Tsohatzopoulos guilty of setting up a complex money laundering scheme to
conceal, through off-shore companies, millions of dollars he had received in bribes from a number of
defence contracts involving submarines and weapon systems. Tsohatzopoulos was sentenced to twenty
years’ imprisonment and appealed his conviction. He was also sentenced to five and a half years’ im-
prisonment and a fine of EUR 210,000 for failing to report the purchase of a luxurious house near the
Acropolis, one of several properties connected with such money laundering activities.
Unfortunately, the case against the former Minister for passive bribery with the aggravating circumstan-
ces of Law 1608/1950 (which provides for the harsher punishment, up to life imprisonment of the perpe-
trator of a number of crimes against the State’s financial interest) was declared inadmissible, given that
the limitation period established by the Constitution for the initiation of a criminal case against a current
or former member of the government had already expired. More specifically, under Greek Constitution
and law
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, Parliament can prosecute a current or former member of the Government no later than the
end of the second regular session of the parliamentary term commencing when the alleged offence is
presumed to have occurred. After this deadline neither Parliament nor other state bodies such as the
prosecutor, the investigation judge or the judicial council, can initiate a legal action, since the crime is no
longer punishable.
However, Tsohatzopoulos was charged with and found guilty of money laundering, a crime not conside-
red to be committed in the performance of a Minister’s duties and therefore not subject to the five-year
SOL provided for such crimes. In contrast, it was found subject to the fifteen-year limitation period
provided by the Criminal Code for felonies, over which the common criminal courts have jurisdiction.
This case shows an inexplicable differentiation in SOL between crimes committed while performing Mi-
nister’s duties and crimes committed outside of that function, with the former enjoying more favourable
conditions. Since the passive bribery charges were dismissed, Tsohatzopoulos was found guilty only of
money laundering; the first offence provides for life imprisonment of the perpetrator who damages the
State’s interest, while the second does not.
THE SPECIAL CASE OF MINISTERS IN GREECE: THE CASE OF AKIS TSOHATZOPOULOS