The report of defense firm middleman Thomas Liakounakos’ arrest late Monday evening, along with a retired high-ranking military officer, was abrupt but not a surprise.
The high-profile businessman was apprehended in his home in upscale Psychiko district after an arrest warrant was issued in relation to charges stemming a decades-old and controversial contract involving Swedish multi-national Ericsson.
He faces felony charges of bribery as well as money laundering, standing accused of managing as much as 1.6 million euros in bribes and kickbacks from as early as 2000.
Piraeus-born Liakounakis, 67, is a self-made millionaire who founded, owns and heads a group of companies ranging from publications to medical centers to software development and construction companies. He started young, selling supplies to ships in Piraeus, allegedly while also serving as a midshipman in the Hellenic Navy.
His marriage to Maria Sotiriadou, with whom he has three daughters and a son, put him in cahoots with the well-to-do, as the Sotiriadou family was connected to conservative New Democracy leader Evangelos Averoff in the 1980s.
Liakounakos’ daughter, Avra, married Steve Romanos in a luxury affair at Lagonisi, along the Athens Riviera
The breakthrough deal for Liakounakos came with contract to supply the German-made Leopard tanks for the Greek Army, with ripples of the first scandal unable to stop the avalanche of more deals that followed.
Axon Holdings was involved in various ventures and branched out to become a consortium with Axon Construction, Axon Stockbrokers, the financial newspaper Kerdos, Axon Airlines and SONAK for defense electronics.
Wife 2 – Natasha! It was a whirlwind romance that blew his mind away…
After his divorce to Sotiriadou, he married Natasha Katsarou and was featured regularly in tabloids. The couple owned a villa on Mykonos, a chalet in mountainous Arachova and tens of millions of euros worth of assets ranging from speedboats to expensive cars.
An idyllic life of parties and Porsches but now its time to pay the price with prison!
As the godfather to former New Democracy leader Miltiadis Evert’s daughter, Alexia, he continued building connections and wealth. Surprisingly, the most contracts he amassed was during socialist PASOK Prime Minister Costas Simitis’ leadership, with almost 6 billion euros in defense contracts. Oftentimes, he would get paid but deliver nothing, such as the listening devices that SONAK never delivered.
Apart from defense, he also founded the Euromedica Group with 18 clinics, 86 health units, 58 diagnostic centers and 9 rehab centers. The group collapsed as public health funds towards the expensive private sector dried up. The Euromedica subsidiary alone has verified debts to banks that exceed 372 million euros!
