A total of 64 people were indicted by an appellate level council for their alleged participation in a massive kickbacks and bribery scandal over the past decade or so, a case linked to deals between Siemens AG and then state-run Hellenic Telecoms (OTE).

The 64 suspects face criminal charges of active and passive bribery along with money laundering, along with illicit payments for contracts signed between the German colossal company and OTE.

Specifically, the defendants are accused of being involved in the so-called “8002” contract signed in the late 1990s, with the purpose of upgrading and digitizing Greece’s national telecommunications network. Is should be noted that more than 60 million euros were allegedly paid in bribes to secure the deal.

The list of the 64 suspects to face trial includes Theodoros Tsoukatos, a former close associate of one-time PM Costas Simitis, 13 German ex-executives of Siemens and several former executives of OTE, one of whom has fled the country for South America.