The latest scent of political scandal comes only days before Sunday’s election, with former minister of state and long-time leftist cadre Alekos Flambouraris on Tuesday declaring that “every Greek citizen has the right to own shares in any company he wants” when faced with conflict of interest charges.

His statement comes on the same day as a Proto Thema story “broke” news that the 77-year-old civil engineer and construction firm executive appears as the main shareholder in a company that won a 3.9-million-euro public contract in May 2015, while he was a serving Cabinet minister.

Nevertheless, an investigation by PT shows that a minister’s capacity as a shareholder in a company winning a public contract deprives the latter from vying for a deputy’s seat in a (subsequent) general election.

The most prominent restriction on ministers as shareholders in companies that execute public contracts is Article 18, paragraph 2 of Law 1558, passed in 1985.

Flambouraris was placed in first place on SYRIZA’s ballot for the first Athens district by party leader Alexis Tsipras, a spot that guarantees he will be elected to the next Parliament.

The ex-minister, widely considered as Tsipras’ political mentor and a family friend of the Tsipras family, served as an unelected Cabinet member in the seven-month SYRIZA government.