Folli Follie

After months of legal proceedings, the trial of troubled jewelry maker Folli Follie has entered its final stretch, as the defendants' pleas have been completed and a date has been set for the prosecutor's recommendation. 

The defendants are charged with falsifying balance sheets and financial offenses and forming a criminal organization. 

Dimitris Koutsolioutsos, founder of jewelry company Folli-Follie, began his defense in an Athens court Friday by highlighting his company's successes.

A few weeks before the start of the trial over the Folli Follie scandal, in which Dimitris and Tzortzis Koutsolioutsos are accused, the family's famous mansion on Spetses is reportedly at the center of talks about its utilization.

There appears to be no end to the legal saga involving troubled Greek jewelry company Folli Follie as the trial that had been scheduled to resume on Monday was again postponed until September 14.

Barring any unlikely event, the Folli Follie trial is expected to begin on June 19 at the Court of Appeal for Felony Cases, as the Athens Bar Association has stated that the lawyers will attend the trial with special permission.

Investment fever is spreading on Aiolou Street, Athinas Street and Kotzia Square to Patision Street and the National Archaeological Museum, with investors maintaining high expectations for the return of the area to its bygone glory.

With judicial investigations regarding the Folli Follie scandal in full swing, the case file is being forwarded to Parliament, as two former ministers of the then SYRIZA government, Alekos Flambouraris and Alexandros Haritsis, have been implicated.

The troubled Folli Follie company's major shareholders, the Koutsolioutsos family, reaped the benefits of a well-orchestrated fraud scheme that lasted for at least 17 years, under the nose of the supervisory authorities, generating hundreds of millions of euros in profits, according to an audit report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It was clear that the case of Greek jewelry maker Folli Follie was not just about its shareholders.

It concerned the overall credibility of the Greek market. 

The supervisory institutions proved incapable of clearing up the case and the price was high for the country's image. 

A report by an auditing firm forwarded to the Athens prosecutor's office handling the investigation into the scandal involving the Folli Follie jewelry company has implicated two ministers of the former SYRIZA government, which are mentioned by name, as well as the prime minister's office.