Greek Minister of Justice Haralampos Athanasiou announced a legislative initiative within the next month for the use of the frozen deposits.
Replying to a question by Democratic Left MP Nikos Tsoukalis, the Minister stressed that the Financial and Economic Crime Unit alone “has frozen bank accounts worth approximately 9.5 million euros, $ 750,000, Turkish liras, gold, silver, jewelry, etc. not including the foreclosures relating to offenses such as money laundering.”
He noted that the intention of the ministry and the government is to use these amounts to help socially weaker groups with a bill that will be presented to the Parliament in June, after the exact amount of frozen assets is determined.
In addition, the Minister argued that those who return their illegally obtained money before charges are pressed against them should get a more lenient treatment by the government.