Giorgos Apostolopoulos, the man accused of attempting to bribe the MP Pavlos Haikalis, appeared before the prosecutor today to testify with regards to the case.
Apostolopoulos, who testified for approximately three hours, did not make any statements on leaving the courthouse.
According to reports, in his testimony, Apostolopoulos did not deny to the prosecutor that he had met with Haikalis and confirmed that he was the man heard speaking in the recording of the meeting leaked to the press. In the recording, Apostolopoulos is heard offering a cash bribe of 700,000 euros and other incentives.
However he argued that it was Haikalis who made the first openings to him about potentially receiving compensation for changing his vote. Apostolopoulos maintained that he subsequently took the initiative to try and trap the MP to prove to Panos Kammenos, the leader of Haikalis’s party, that the MP was willing to accept a bribe. He reportedly stated that he wanted to prove that the MP, with whom he said he had a friendly relationship and met with often, was untrustworthy. However Haikalis and Kammenos had effectively beaten him to the punch by going to the police.
The same sources say that Apostolopoulos told the prosecutor that there was evidence from the meeting in question that backs up his claim.
Apostolopoulos maintained that he had acted entirely on his own and that he had no superior, given that he is a freelancer. He said that he had been an adviser to Panos Kammenos until the spring of 2013 and wanted to prove to him that Haikalis could not be trusted.
As to the recording given by Haikalis to the prosecutor, Apostolopoulos’s attorney argued that it not be used in any way as it had been illegally obtained.
Panos Kammenos and Pavlos Haikalis have been summoned to testify before the prosecutor tomorrow.
The full statement by Apostolopoulos's lawyer
Apostolopoulos’s lawyer, Pavlos Sarakis made the following statement to the press following his client’s testimony:
“Following the request of the Prosecutor, Mr Apostolopoulos was called to offer explanations in the investigation following the Haikali allegations. We immediately agreed, gave explanations, did not ask for a deferral and made the reality clear.
No criminal wrongdoing emerges, no political issue exists as Mr Haikalis presents it. The reality is as Mr Apostolopoulos testified, without editing. The political impropriety has been perpetrated by Mr Haikalis.
The video has been edited. He revealed conversations to reveal the morals of Mr Haikalis. The facts don’t have the dimensions that have been portrayed. The criminal and political issue concerns the other side.”
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