Defence lawyers in Focus case say clients can’t be tried twice for the same case

The lawyer for two defendants in the Focus corruption case filed a pre-trial objection on Thursday to have his clients acquitted on the grounds they should not be tried twice for the same events.

In court, Savvas Angelides, counsel for former Central Bank governor Christodoulos Christodoulou, and for the company Α. C. Christodoulou Consultants Ltd, said his clients have already been tried for the same case and been found guilty.

Therefore the attorney-general’s decision to now prosecute them again on different charges represented a miscarriage of justice, the lawyer argued.

Christodoulou did five months in jail in 2014 for failing to pay taxes on a €1m payment made from Greek company Focus Maritime Corp to Α. C. Christodoulou Consultants Ltd –  a consulting firm technically owned by Christodoulou’s daughter.

A.C Christodoulou Consultants Ltd had also been found complicit and was fined €13,500.

The current case is based on the suspicion that a €1m transfer from Focus, owned by Greek businessman Michalis Zolotas, to the consulting firm was actually made on behalf of former Laiki Bank boss Andreas Vgenopoulos in exchange for the former governor’s collusion during the Greek financier’s 2006 takeover of Laiki.

Laiki closed down in 2013.

Vgenopoulos, widely considered as the protagonist in the collapse of the island’s banking system in 2013, died in November 2016.

Other than Christodoulou, his daughter Athina, and her ex-husband Andreas Kizourides, the charge sheet includes Zolotas, former Laiki official Michael Fole, and companies A. C. Christodoulou Consultants Ltd, Marfin Investment Group (MIG), and Focus Maritime Corp.

During a previous hearing, Athina Christodoulou and Kizourides entered a not-guilty plea. The other defendants have yet to enter a plea, their lawyers having submitted pre-trial motions.

The lawyer representing Marfin Investment Group said he would submit his pre-trial objections at the next hearing, which was set for July 26.

Thereafter, hearings will take place on 9, 10 and 11 October.

The defendants face 29 charges including corruption, bribery, abuse of authority, abuse of trust, and money laundering.

Zolotas faces a single count relating to money laundering.

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