Greek ex-mayor jailed for life for embezzlement Published duration 27 February 2013

image caption Vassilis Papageorgopoulos said his trial was politically motivated

A former mayor of Greece's second city Thessaloniki and two other ex-officials have been jailed for life for embezzling almost 18m euros (£15.5m) of public funds.

The court ruled that Vassilis Papageorgopoulos was a key part of a scam that lasted between 1999 and 2008.

It is believed to be the longest sentence given to any Greek politician convicted of corruption.

After sentencing, Papageorgopoulos continued to protest his innocence.

"I declare that I have nothing to do with this case," he told the Thessaloniki court, according to Greek media.

"Some people will go to their graves weighed down by remorse."

He said his trial had been turned into a "political process".

Papageorgopoulos was mayor of Thessaloniki from 1999 to 2010 after serving as deputy sports minister in the early 1990s.

Also sentenced to life were the city's former general secretary, Michalis Lemoussias, and former treasurer Panagiotis Saxonis.

All three are expected to appeal.

Joint account

The court heard that Saxonis was responsible for forwarding to social security funds the contributions from council workers' salaries.

Prosecutors said he kept that money and, after taking a 10% cut, forwarded the rest to Lemoussias who split it with Papageorgopoulos.

The court was told that the funds were initially banked in a joint account in the names of Papageorgopoulos and Lemoussias.

Prosecutors began investigating the city's accounts following complaints that millions of euros were missing.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says the Greek political class has long been perceived as "untouchable", although plagued by scandals and clientelism.

In 2012 the watchdog Transparency International named Greece as the most corrupt country in the European Union.