President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (HBF), Vangelis Liolios, and other federation members were arrested following a relevant warrant within the framework of the sports prosecutor's investigation into severe allegations concerning Greek basketball regarding match-fixing and other offenses. The arrest of Liolios causes shocks in the world of Greek basketball! Competent sources report that the arrest warrant for Vangelis Liolios concerns felony charges over actions taken during his tenure at the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Arrest warrants were also issued against two active basketball referees and HBF officials. According to information, the prosecutor and the magistrate handling the case deemed Mr. Liolios a flight risk, which prompted the issuance of an arrest warrant against him. The same applied to the remaining individuals. In fact, inside the home of one of the accused referees in Katerini, the sum of 820,000 euros was discovered, which naturally cannot be justified.
The six individuals for whom warrants have been issued are:
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Vangelis Liolios: President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (HBF).
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Vasiliki Tsaroucha: Basketball referee.
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Petros Papapetrou: Basketball referee.
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Ilias Koromilas: Chief referee and special refereeing advisor.
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Piloidis Anastopoulos: Basketball referee.
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Giorgos Mavraganis: Businessman and former athlete.
According to information so far, four individuals have been arrested, while referee Vasiliki Tsaroucha and businessman Giorgos Mavraganis are being sought by police authorities.
The charges
The investigation commenced following complaints alleging criminal acts, while, according to reports, the six face case-by-case charges of bribery and accepting bribes under sports legislation. Competent sources report that the case concerns alleged match-fixing in top-tier basketball, as well as lower divisions, spanning a period of at least five years. The case file reportedly includes messages between officials, alongside testimony and formal complaints submitted to the sports prosecutor. Simultaneously, during searches, large sums of cash were reportedly discovered in the possession of those involved, which, according to the same information, cannot be justified by their declared income. Following the filing of criminal charges, the case file was forwarded to an examining magistrate, and the defendants are expected to be summoned tomorrow to provide explanations.
Vangelis Liolios has led Greek basketball since September 2021.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos' Instagram story
On October 16, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, through his personal Instagram account, portended major developments in the basketball world. Specifically, the Panathinaikos president had stated: "What is coming to the world of basketball in the coming days, if not weeks, will be unprecedented. As Panathinaikos, we did not attempt to exploit this under the table to force them to act the fool, doing the exact opposite of what they were doing for so many years. We preferred as Panathinaikos to take the legal route, both because we are Panathinaikos and because we want back what was stolen, and we will get it back." Shortly after news broke regarding the arrest warrant issued against the HBF president, Mr. Giannakopoulos posted a new Instagram story reading: [translation] "You wanted war... you should have asked."
"I am waiting to see the position of those who for so many years, without anyone ever being convicted, without anyone ever being charged by authorities, slandered and diminished our victories, our championships, leaving in the middle of games and championships, and in what manner they will condemn what has come out and continues to come out. And something unrelated: do you take the rubber bands off the bank bundles or leave them on? Or is it proven where they came from? A question from a dizzy Athenian."
"Kisses!" he concluded.
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