A Greek businessman from Ioannina has received a six-year prison term for defrauding a former Greek national team and Olympiakos Volou footballer of 500,000 euros.
The Athens Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies handed down the ruling in an appeal hearing on Monday, convicting the defendant in absentia after he failed to appear in court to answer the charges.
Judges refused to grant any mitigating circumstances to the businessman, who had initially received a nine-year sentence at his first trial. That previous decision allowed him to remain free pending appeal under suspensive bail, but Monday's ruling terminates that protection and directs police to take him straight to prison upon arrest.
Swiss bank transfer scheme
The fraud dates back to 2009, when the businessman approached the international footballer by presenting himself as a seasoned authority on the financial system with elite connections to overseas institutions.
At the time, the former Greece player was seeking to transfer his career savings into an account with a Swiss bank. Exploiting the player's trust, the businessman took 500,000 euros under the pretence of completing the overseas deposit but kept the funds for himself.
Evidence presented in court established that the defendant used the same fraudulent approach against several other professional football players during that era, targeting athletes looking for international wealth management services.
Accomplice sentence and fugitive search
The court also convicted the businessman's female manager for her involvement in the fraud, sentencing her to three years in prison.
The primary defendant, who is originally from and resides in the northwestern city of Ioannina, remains at large after declining to appear in person or send legal representation to contest the charges.
Greek police have now been instructed to track down and apprehend the businessman, whose custodial sentence is immediately enforceable with no further right to suspensive bail.
Greek felony appeals and football background
Under the Greek legal system, major fraud cases involving substantial monetary losses are classified as felonies and adjudicated before specialized felony panels. First-instance courts hold legal discretion to grant an appeal suspensive effect, a mechanism that permits convicted felons to stay out of custody while awaiting a secondary review by the appellate court.
When an appellate court rejects all mitigating circumstances, the conviction becomes fully enforceable, requiring law enforcement to execute the committal order without delay.
The defrauded player represented Olympiakos Volou, a historic club founded in 1937 in the port city of Volos that has competed across Greece's professional divisions, including the top flight. He also earned selection for the Greece national football team during an era when Greek football enjoyed elevated international status following the national side's triumph at the 2004 European Championship.
During the onset of the global financial crisis around 2009, high-earning professionals in Greece frequently sought to move liquid capital into Swiss private banks, which had long held a reputation for financial stability and confidentiality. Unlicensed intermediaries routinely preyed on high-profile clients during that period by exaggerating their foreign banking relationships and promising secure offshore placements.
