Greek shipping tycoon denies drugs charges

ATHENS: Greek shipping tycoon and the owner of Olympiakos Piraeus and Nottingham Forest soccer teams, Vangelis Marinakis, denied any links to drug trafficking on Saturday, a day after a Greek prosecutor brought preliminary charges against him.

The prosecutor charged Marinakis with financing and storing drug substances and setting up a criminal group to traffic and sell drugs, a judiciary source said. The 50-year old shipowner denied any wrongdoing saying that the charges were legally unfounded and accused the country´s leftist-led government of plotting against him. “There is not the least evidence against me,” Marinakis said, adding that “members of the governing coalition have persistently targeted me” and said the results of any investigation would prove his innocence.