Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-22 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Appeals prosecutor asks for stricter sentences against convicted Energa-Hellas Power executives --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Appeals prosecutor asks for stricter sentences against convicted Energa-Hellas Power executives Appeals prosecutor Grigoris Peponis appealed against a decision of a Felony Court which he says issued a lenient sentence against 11 former executives of two now-defunct energy suppliers, Energa and Hellas Power, who were convicted in an embezzlement case. Power companies Energa and Hellas Power withheld 257 million euros from the state by collecting a special property tax levied through electricity bills, which they failed to pay to the state. The accused received prison sentences ranging from four to 11 years, with the court ordering the imprisonment of just three of the former executives. According to Peponis, the court recognized extenuating circumstances which spared the convicted executives from receiving life sentences, the sentence given to those who embezzle large sums of state money. "The judges […] did not evaluate correctly the degree of the criminal intent of the accused," the prosecutor said, adding that the recent ruling should be "corrected" on the part that concerns the sentencing and the recognition of extenuating circumstances. "The court should impose the sentences which are appropriate to the seriousness of the crimes of the defendants," he said.