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Former President of Proton Bank Lavrentis Lavrentiadis was arrested at his home in the luxurious Athenian seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni. Lavrentiadis was accused of siphoning off 701 million euro from Proton Bank and there are 4 written statements charging him with the commission of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds, fraud, money laundering and organised crime. The decision to arrest him was reached through mutual consent of the prosecutor and the investigator on his case, who have evidence that the banker was preparing to leave the country. The prosecutor on the case is Ioannis Dragatsis.

Instead of into custody, however, he was taken to hospital because he suddenly felt unwell. Yesterday, in the first instance, a plenary session of the Athenian court ordered the seizure of all movable and immovable property belonging both to Lavrentiadis and 29 other people, who were also involved in the bank's draining scheme. Shareholders of Proton Bank initiated legal proceedings against these, after the scandal broke out and the bank ceased its activity, and, as a result, was put under guardianship of the Financial Stability Fund. It was divided into a "good" bank and a "bad" bank and its shareholders lost their shares overnight.

Seizure will apply both to property that is in their direct possession and property which is transferred in the name of third parties. Lavrentis Lavrentiadis's property, discovered by the police at his home in Vouliagmeni, is especially interesting. It includes evidence of his connections to other bank groups, millions in deposits in banks in Switzerland, Germany, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as cash amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros and jewellery of exceptional value. The prosecutor insisted on the opening of his bank accounts in order to trace the movement of his money and to prove his relationships not only with other bankers and businessmen, but also with representatives of the state.

According to Greek media, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis did not expect to be arrested. Days before his arrest, he told friends that he was not afraid of being arrested. His detention order was issued a few days ago, after the case investigator discovered his huge deposits abroad, as well as evidence that he was preparing to escape from the country, although he was issued with an order not to cross its boundaries.