Four probes under way into 'trillionare' Sorras, says minister

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis on Friday told lawmakers in Athens that a prosecutor is currently investigating four misdemeanor case files compiled against self-proclaimed "trillionaire" Artemis Sorras, who claims to have enough money to pay off Greece's entire public debt and that of its citizens.

Kontonis was responding to criticism that the authorities have delayed looking into the activities of the man who also created a nationalist political organization called Convention of Greeks, which has attracted thousands of fee-paying followers.

The minister added that the Supreme Court prosecutor's office has overturned a decision by a lower court acquitting him of charges of disseminating false information.