The Athens Misdemeanors Court on Friday acquitted Charalampos Gotsis, former president of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), of all charges related to the delayed suspension of Folli Follie’s stock in May 2018.
Former Folli Follie vice president Giorgos Koutsolioutsos and the company’s former head of security were also acquitted.
The charges stemmed from allegations that Gotsis failed to swiftly suspend trading of the stock after initial reports emerged indicating the company had falsified its financial statements.
The court’s decision aligned with the recommendation of the public prosecutor, who concluded that Gotsis had not committed a breach of duty.
The prosecutor argued that the suspension of trading was at Gotsis’s discretion—not an obligation—and found no evidence that he or the Koutsolioutsos family had derived any personal benefit from the decision.
Giorgos Koutsolioutsos is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence, following his 2024 conviction for falsifying financial statements and other serious financial crimes tied to the main Folli Follie scandal.