Speculation was rife in Athens on Tuesday that eight defendants on remand in a massive gold trafficking investigation, accompanied by charges of fencing and racketeering, will soon be set free pending trial. However, a prosecutor assigned to the high-profile case reportedly rejected a motion for bail later in the afternoon, contravening a recommendation by an investigating magistrate.
Among the eight is the owner of a chain of 88 pawn shops in Greece - and with a presence overseas - well-known for "fronting" his own television commercials.
The development, according to media reports, stems from the attestation by the independent public revenues authority that the defendants are not currently liable for customs duties and taxes emanating from the export of gold from the country.
Based on a voluminous indictment, the result of a more than a year-old police investigation, at least two separate rings - often in cooperation - conspired to acquire, melt down and then transport large volumes of gold overseas, mostly to neighboring Turkey.
If confirmed, the felony charges of large-scale smuggling and avoidance of related duties will be dropped from the indictment.
The case, which generated front-page coverage and was the lead-off item on several newscasts last week, even found its way to Parliament and political debate. Speaking from Parliament's podium, and in a bid to embellish his leftist-rightist coalition government's efforts to combat corruption and "white-collar" crime in the country, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras mentioned the businessman by name.
Even before the indictment was disclosed to defense attorney and immediately after the arrests of 59 suspects, Tsipras said the alleged criminal ring "squeezed dozens of thousands of our fellow citizens, who due to the (economic) crisis and the memorandum (bailout) measures had been forced to sell-off their jewelry at cut-rate prices for temporary relief."
