Greek police have solved a bombing attempt at a Greek-American businessman's villa on the island of Lefkada after video footage captured a suspect placing explosives.
Investigators from the Hellenic Police Extortion Squad, known as DAOE, identified a 49-year-old man as the alleged physical perpetrator of the January 23, 2026 attack.
The caretaker of the luxury estate near Agiofylli discovered the device on a rear balcony, where perpetrators had set 10 kilograms of gelatin dynamite equipped with a slow-burning fuse.
Extortion squad investigation
According to police case files, the attack on the property was ordered from inside Malandrino prison by two inmates with extensive criminal records.
The victim, a Greek-American entrepreneur who resides in the United States and spends summers in Greece, was targeted by a group of six Greek citizens, including one woman, working under instructions from the incarcerated orchestrators.
Lefkada is an island located in the Ionian Sea off western Greece, popular for its high-end summer homes, while DAOE is the specialized national police unit responsible for tackling organized extortion and protection rings.
Vehicle rental and phone threats
Evidence gathered by investigators shows that two days prior to the incident, on January 21, 2026, the 49-year-old suspect rented a white vehicle used in the operation from Artemis, a town in East Attica near Athens.
The rental transaction took place under the 49-year-old's name, accompanied by a 27-year-old accomplice, at an agency managed by the partner of a 47-year-old inmate held in Malandrino prison.
Court documents reveal that the 47-year-old prisoner had arranged the vehicle lease over the telephone.
When the car was later returned with physical damage, the inmate spoke over speakerphone to deliver verbal threats against the 49-year-old suspect.
Reconnaissance and bomb placement
Following the vehicle arrangements, the inmate claimed that he had acted under directives issued by his 31-year-old cellmate, who is also charged as a primary moral instigator in the case.
Security footage and tracking data showed that on January 22, the 49-year-old suspect traveled to Lefkada to survey and map out the area surrounding the luxury villa near Agiofylli.
After conducting initial surveillance, the suspect temporarily departed the island by boat before returning in the early morning hours of January 23 to plant the explosive device on the balcony.
Criminal records of alleged orchestrators
Both men accused of ordering the bombing from Malandrino prison, a maximum-security facility located in central Greece, possess long criminal histories.
The 47-year-old Greek inmate has been known to law enforcement since 2015, and in 2023 alone police opened five separate case files against him involving charges of robbery, theft, and narcotics offenses.
Greek police also linked the 47-year-old suspect to a January 2026 attempted murder of a hardened Albanian criminal inside Malandrino prison.
The second alleged orchestrator, a 31-year-old of Albanian origin, has a history of theft and robbery charges alongside a 2025 murder charge in Athens.
