The former manager of Proton Bank Lavrentis Lavrentiadis and 42 other individuals are facing serious charges in the trial regarding bad loans worth 701 million euros granted by the bank. The trial, which was scheduled to begin today, has been postponed for the 27th of March.
According to the case file, the bank granted loans worth 701 million euros between 2010 and 2011, with the funds ending up in the accounts of companies associated with Mr. Lavrentiadis. The investigation that preceded suggests that Mr. Lavrentiadis and his co-defendants established companies with the explicit purpose of receiving loans from the bank.
Mr. Lavrentiadis and the other 42 defendants are facing felony charges of forming and joining a criminal organization, money laundering and fraud, among others. Some of the defendants also face embezzlement charges against the State.
The former bank manager has disputed the total value of bad loans and maintains that some of them were paid out when he was not even a bank shareholder. He also maintains that many of the loans in-question continue to be serviced and stresses that after returning some of the funds, he has the intention the return more.
