Gov't, opposition clash over release of disgraced energy exec

The release of disgraced energy executive Aristeidis Floros under the provisions of a new criminal code introduced by the previous administration, provoked a fierce clash on Tuesday between the government and leftist SYRIZA.

Floros was released by the court hearing his appeal against his conviction for embezzlement and money laundering on the basis of new laws introduced by the outgoing leftist government, which grant embezzlers more lenient treatment.

He had been sentenced in 2017 to 21 years in prison over the Energa scandal, accused of swindling the state out of millions of euros, but had been behind bars since 2014, serving a 13-year sentence for ordering an assassination attempt against Athens lawyer Giorgos Antonopoulos.

Floros' lawyers argued that their client had served nearly six years in prison which, under the new penal code, qualifies him for early...