Greek Basketball scandal: Messages and bribery allegations – What happens next

The findings and evidence gathered by law enforcement and judicial authorities in connection with the scandal that has rocked Greek basketball have caused a sensation.

Revelations continue to emerge about the serious case that led to the arrest of Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) president Vangelis Liolios and five other individuals, including several prominent referees.

Testimonies from individuals described as key witnesses, messages found on the suspects’ mobile phones, and items discovered during police raids on their homes have placed the six defendants in a particularly difficult position.

Meanwhile, the case has expanded beyond Greek basketball and taken on international dimensions, as the case file includes at least one game played in Cyprus, as well as a serious allegation by a foreign referee concerning an attempted bribe by a Greek referee during the EuroCup final.

“Team X must lose at all costs”

Two witnesses who came forward before the sports prosecutor as part of the investigation into Greek basketball described dozens of allegedly fixed matches, primarily in the second division but also in the top flight.

According to information obtained, the matches being investigated for alleged fixing involving the accused referees include games featuring PAOK, Aris and AEK, among other teams, in 2018, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Legal sources have clarified that the case file does not include any matches involving either Olympiacos BC or Panathinaikos BC.

The evidence also includes messages allegedly demonstrating attempts to manipulate match results.

Specifically, one message attributed to the accused businessman reportedly states: “Team X [team name] must lose at all costs. Whenever I come across them, I want to destroy them because they are my enemies.”

In a second message, allegedly sent by the accused female referee, a reservation at a luxury hotel is reportedly requested in her name: “Can you arrange for me to go to Costa Navarino?”

According to the same sources, the reservation, dating back to 2018, has been confirmed.

Suspicious Matches, witness testimonies and allegations by a foreign referee

According to sources, the two key witnesses whose testimonies contributed to the criminal prosecution have provided detailed accounts of what they know.

One of them, an active referee who appears to have submitted messages supporting his allegations, referred to approximately 30 second-division basketball games between 2018 and 2026.

He claims that he received instructions from the accused businessman on how to officiate these games. In return, rather than receiving money, he continued to be appointed to officiate important matches.

The second key witness, reportedly a businessman and president of a second-division basketball club, testified that he received €50,000 from Vangelis Liolios, who was then president of Promitheas, as financial assistance to support his team’s development. He was allegedly never asked to repay the money.

The witness reportedly stated that, in the following match, the accused female referee was selected to officiate and was paid €5,000 to ensure his team’s victory, as a “thank you” for the “favour” he had done for Vangelis Liolios.

According to the same sources, the witness also claimed that in 2016 he received a further €100,000 from Liolios through a third party to resign as president of his club, allowing Promitheas, which Liolios headed at the time, to gain promotion to the top division.

A foreign referee who officiated the second EuroCup final in 2021 between two foreign teams also reported an attempted bribe of €10,000.

In his testimony, the international basketball referee described how a Greek referee approached him and offered him €10,000 to make decisions favouring a particular team during the 2021 EuroCup.

His testimony is one of nine witness statements included in the case file against federation officials and referees.

What Police Found in the Homes of Two Referees – See Photos

Large sums of money that could not be accounted for were discovered during searches conducted by officers of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (DAOE), under the relevant judicial warrants.

Specifically, €820,000 was found at the home of one accused referee in Pieria, while €102,000 was discovered at another referee’s residence.

More than €8,000 was found at Vangelis Liolios’s home, while Olympiacos shirts were discovered at the female referee’s residence.

The Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority has also been informed of the case and will investigate whether proceeds from the alleged criminal organisation were laundered through the chain of coffee businesses operated by the EOK president and his close associate.

In total, searches conducted at the homes of those arrested, in the presence of judicial officials, resulted in the discovery and seizure of:
– €931,463 in cash
– 14 mobile phones
– 6 laptops
– 22 USB storage devices
– 2 tablets
– 2 SD memory cards
– 1 additional memory card, 1 hard drive and 1 notebook
– 3 team shirts and 3 team memorabilia items
– 2 player albums and banknotes from various countries

See photos of the seized items

 

The Official Hellenic Police Statement on the Case

The official statement issued by the Hellenic Police concerning the investigations conducted following the execution of the relevant arrest warrants reads:

“Officers of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime arrested six Greek nationals under arrest warrants issued in connection with a case involving alleged unlawful interference in the course, manner or outcome of basketball matches.

More specifically, officers of the Special Investigations Department of the Subdirectorate for Combating Organised Sports Violence, working alongside officers of the Department for Combating Organised Sports Violence of the Northern Greece Subdirectorate for Combating Organised Crime, carried out a coordinated police operation yesterday, Wednesday, October 21, 2026, during the morning and afternoon, in areas of Attica, Achaia and Katerini.

During the operation, five Greek nationals were located and arrested, while a sixth voluntarily presented himself at the headquarters of the Subdirectorate for Combating Organised Sports Violence, where he was also arrested.

The arrest warrants concerned, depending on the individual case, offences relating to the solicitation or acceptance of gifts or other benefits, or any other provision or promise thereof; the giving or promising of gifts, benefits or other forms of consideration to a referee, administrative official or another person connected in any way with an athlete, referee, sports club, professional sports company or paid athletes’ department; as well as unlawful interference intended to influence the course, manner or outcome of a team sporting event (basketball), whether on a single occasion or repeatedly, jointly or individually, where the matches were linked to domestic or international betting competitions.

In total, searches conducted at the residences of those arrested, in the presence of judicial officials, resulted in the discovery and seizure of €931,463, 14 mobile phones, six laptops, 22 USB storage devices, two tablets, two SD memory cards, one additional memory card, one hard drive, one notebook, three team shirts, three team memorabilia items, two player albums and banknotes from various countries.

Those arrested were brought before the competent prosecuting authority.”

Defendants Granted Additional Time to Prepare Their Defence – What They Said

The six defendants in the Greek basketball match-fixing case requested and were granted additional time to prepare their defence statements over the coming days.

Specifically, former referee Petros Papapetrou is scheduled to appear before the investigating judge tomorrow, Friday (October 23).

Vangelis Liolios and businessman G. Mavraganis are scheduled to appear on Sunday (October 25), while the remaining three defendants will appear on Monday (October 26).

The defendants, who were handcuffed, waited approximately two hours before appearing before the ninth regular investigating judge to be formally informed of the charges against them.

They were subsequently given new dates to respond to allegations of bribery and acceptance of bribes intended to manipulate sporting results, under Article 132 of the Greek Sports Law, in connection with a total of 50 matches.

Dates and Times of the Six Defendants’ Court Appearances

The dates and times granted to the six arrested individuals to present their defence statements are as follows:

Friday, October 23, at 1:00 p.m.

Petros Papapetrou: Former referee who retired during the summer.

Sunday, October 25, at 10:00 a.m.

Vangelis Liolios: President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK).

Giorgos Mavraganis: Businessman.

Monday, October 26, at 10:30 a.m.

Vaso Tsaroucha: International basketball referee.

Tasos Piloidis: Former referee and member of the Central Refereeing Committee (KED).

Ilias Koromilas: Former referee.

The offences for which they have been summoned to provide their defence statements concern bribery and acceptance of bribes in violation of the Sports Law, with the relevant aggravating circumstances.

What the Arrested Individuals Claim

The principal defendant in the case, EOK president Vangelis Liolios, denies the allegations, maintaining that he has no connection whatsoever with the acts described in the indictment against him.

According to the charges, the head of the federation is implicated in 49 alleged instances of bribery, five of which reportedly involve payments of €5,000 each and are linked to testimony provided by one of the two key witnesses.

The two individuals whose testimonies partly formed the basis for the criminal prosecution are an active referee and a businessman, according to the defence.

People close to Liolios also point out that he filed a criminal complaint in 2022 against four individuals allegedly connected to basketball, accusing them of a series of serious criminal offences, including felonies.

One of those individuals is reportedly among the two key witnesses, with Liolios’s associates suggesting that the case may be an attempt to frame him.

Regarding the mobile phone messages reportedly included in the investigation as evidence of attempted bribery, sources say that the only message cited against Vangelis Liolios in the indictment is one in which he allegedly provides the names of referees selected to officiate certain matches.

However, according to people close to the defendant, this information proves nothing, as the referees’ names were due to be made public within the following two or three days.

The defence team of former referee Petros Papapetrou, who is expected to appear before the investigating judge tomorrow, Friday (October 23), categorically denies the charges.

Papapetrou maintains that he possesses the necessary documentation from his professional activities to account for the €820,000 reportedly discovered during a police search of his home.