Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) president Vangelis Liolios and his close associate, businessman Giorgos Mavraganis, are due to appear before an investigating judge on Sunday as an extensive criminal case file sends shockwaves through Greek sport.
The dossier, compiled following a months-long confidential preliminary investigation by the Athens Public Prosecutor’s Office, has led to an urgent full judicial investigation and the issuing of six arrest warrants for alleged serious criminal offences involving bribery, corruption and unlawful interference intended to manipulate the results of basketball matches included in betting markets.
Further developments are expected as the investigation continues. Several other basketball referees named by witnesses in the case file are expected to be summoned for questioning in the coming weeks. Some could ultimately face criminal charges, as witness statements attribute specific allegedly unlawful actions to them.
Five additional individuals are expected to appear before judicial authorities at the Evelpidon court complex in Athens, initially to provide explanations.
A decade-long investigation
According to official documents in the case file, the judicial investigation covers almost a decade, from June 2016 to March 2026, reaching the highest levels of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), its Central Refereeing Committee (KED), and prominent serving and former referees.
Athens’ ninth investigating judge, Konstantinos Metos, has already issued arrest warrants for six individuals, with the agreement of public prosecutor Apostolos Grammenos. The offences under investigation carry maximum prison sentences of ten years.
The six are:
- Vangelis Liolios, president of the EOK, described in the indictment as the alleged “de facto president of Promitheas Patras BC”.
- Ilias Koromilas, a former international referee and the EOK’s special refereeing adviser.
- Giorgos Mavraganis, a businessman and close associate of the EOK president.
- Vaso Tsaroucha, an international basketball referee.
- Petros Papapetrou, a top-division basketball referee.
- Tasos Piloidis, a former referee and member of the EOK’s Central Refereeing Committee.
Significantly, prosecutors proceeded directly with criminal charges and arrest warrants without previously summoning the suspects to provide preliminary explanations, invoking Article 244, paragraph 2, of Greece’s Code of Criminal Procedure.
The decision was based on the assessment that evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation indicated that the defendants remained active in basketball and that there was a risk of further offences being committed.
Mavraganis and Koromilas appeared before the ninth investigating judge on 22 October 2026 and were granted extensions to prepare their defence statements. Their appearances were scheduled for 25 and 26 October respectively, while they remained in custody.
How the investigation began
The criminal investigation was triggered by a formal complaint submitted on 16 April 2026, and supplemented on 13 May, by Maroussi BC through its chief executive, Theofanis Tarnatoros.
The complaint was addressed to the EOK’s Ethics Committee, the Professional Sports Committee (EEA) and the National Platform for Sports Integrity (EPATHLA).
It was accompanied by a sworn statement made before a notary by basketball coach Ilias Papatheodorou, who managed Promitheas Patras between 2023 and 2025, as well as screenshots of messages exchanged between the coach and Liolios.
According to Papatheodorou’s sworn statement and the messages submitted, Liolios allegedly continued to exercise effective control over Promitheas Patras despite having transferred his shares in the club before his election as EOK president in 2021.
The messages included in the case file allegedly show Liolios:
– Making decisions on transfers, contracts and player sales: On 14 July 2023, he informed the coach that “Tanoulis has signed to leave Promitheas and join Olympiacos”, adding, in reference to the buyout fee, that “even if it had been 300, they would have paid it”. Similarly, on 5 February 2025, he forwarded a message from an agent regarding interest from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in Antonis Karagiannidis, commenting: “On Thursday I’ll speak to Karagiannidis so his head doesn’t get turned… I’ll tell him about the interest from the two big clubs and our asking price of 500 [thousand euros].”
– Involving the national team in transfer planning: On 21 June 2024, he allegedly wrote to Papatheodorou: “Sign Lountzis yesterday. Now he needs a discussion through Tasos. If you need me to do anything, tell me. I’ll have him with the national team for all those days…”
– Identifying himself as the club’s management: In a lengthy message dated 27 June 2024, he allegedly wrote: “For everything that happens at the club, the primary responsibility lies with management (mainly me), followed by the staff (mainly you).” In another message, dated 18 May 2024, he reportedly stated: “I know how to push the boss’s buttons. When you don’t ask for an amount and tell him ‘whatever you think is right’, you always get more… If they have faith, they’ll sign a blank piece of paper.”
– Knowing confidential referee appointments before their announcement: The most potentially incriminating message was allegedly sent on Wednesday, 5 March 2025, three days before the crucial Promitheas v PAOK match on 8 March.
In that message, the EOK president allegedly told the Promitheas coach:
“I don’t know whether it makes a difference or not. But Saturday’s refereeing trio is Vaso, Stefanos and Christinakis [meaning Tsaroucha, Maglogiannis and Christinakis]. I’ve just asked and found out. But be careful. It’s strictly, strictly confidential. I don’t know whether the referees themselves even know yet.”
The three officials were formally announced two days later, on 7 March 2025.
Meanwhile, Maroussi’s supplementary complaint to the Professional Sports Committee, submitted on 13 May 2026, alleged that when 86.62% of Promitheas BC’s shares were transferred in July 2020, a 24.62% stake went to a close relative of Liolios.
Another shareholder holding 30% was reportedly the spouse of an EOK board member.
Testimony from witnesses granted immunity from prosecution
A decisive development in the investigation came with the application of Article 132, paragraph 5, of Law 2725/1999, which provides for leniency towards individuals who disclose acts of match manipulation.
Under prosecutorial decisions issued on 14 October 2026, prosecutors refrained from bringing criminal charges against Vangelis Tsapas, the former owner of Faros Keratsini BC and Ionikos Nikaias BC, and a referee identified by the initials F.K.
Both provided detailed testimony about the alleged operation of the network.
In sworn statements given on 31 July and 4 September 2026 before prosecutor Apostolos Grammenos, Tsapas described a series of meetings, financial transactions and allegedly prearranged matches.
His accounts were incorporated directly into the allegations contained in the arrest warrants.
1. The €5,000 payments in 2018
According to the arrest warrant for Tasos Piloidis, on 15 March 2018, Liolios, Mavraganis and Tsapas allegedly promised the referee €5,000 to influence the outcome of the Faros Larissas v Aris match on 17 March 2018 in favour of Faros.
The indictment states that the money was handed over by Tsapas at a central hotel.
Faros subsequently won the match 81-76.
Several weeks later, ahead of the Trikala v Panionios match on 10 April 2018, the same individuals allegedly met at a café on Amalias Avenue in Athens.
During that meeting, they reportedly promised €5,000 each to Piloidis and Tsaroucha to favour Panionios, who went on to win 81-76.
Two days later, on 12 April 2018, Tsapas allegedly handed Piloidis €5,000 for himself and another €5,000 intended for Tsaroucha at his home in Alimos.
2. The €50,000 package outside Promitheas Park in 2019
In his supplementary testimony on 4 September 2026, Tsapas claimed that on 1 October 2019 he was summoned to Mavraganis’s office on Amalias Avenue, where Ilias Koromilas, then an active referee, was also present.
According to his testimony, subsequently incorporated into Koromilas’s arrest warrant, he was asked not to appoint a coach at Ionikos Nikaias before the club’s second-round league match against Promitheas Patras on 5 October 2019.
He was allegedly instructed to “take it easy and lose”.
In return, Tsapas claimed he was promised a €50,000 “cash-flow facility” and favourable refereeing in Ionikos’s next match against PAOK on 12 October 2019, with Vaso Tsaroucha appointed as one of the officials.
According to Tsapas, Liolios joined the discussion by telephone and said:
“I guarantee whatever the lads are telling you.”
After the match in Patras, which Promitheas won 87-80, Tsapas said he met Liolios at 8pm outside Promitheas Park.
He alleged that Liolios handed him €50,000 inside a car, in bundles of €100 banknotes from the National Bank of Greece.
Liolios reportedly told him:
“I’m telling you something: Vaso will be there on Saturday.”
This was allegedly said before the Central Refereeing Committee had publicly announced its appointments.
Tsaroucha was indeed assigned to the Ionikos v PAOK match, which Ionikos won 83-66.
Two days later, on 14 October 2019, Tsapas allegedly attended another meeting on Amalias Avenue and asked what would happen regarding repayment of the €50,000.
According to his account, Koromilas jokingly replied:
“You haven’t calculated it properly. It’s not fifty, it’s fifty-five, because we also gave Vaso five.”
3. The spa visits and “favours that leave traces” between 2019 and 2021
According to the same judicial documents, several further matches and alleged arrangements came under scrutiny.
Ionikos v Panionios (108-74, 21 December 2019)
On the eve of the match, at a café in City Link on Voukourestiou Street in Athens, referee Petros Papapetrou allegedly assured Tsapas, in Mavraganis’s presence, that he would do everything possible to help Ionikos secure their seventh victory.
When Tsapas said he had no money available, Mavraganis allegedly responded:
“That’s our problem. Consider it a gift.”
PAOK v Ionikos (86-84, 27 December 2020)
Two days before the match, during dinner at Tsapas’s home, Koromilas allegedly told him that he had also spoken to the match’s second referee, identified as S.M., about helping Ionikos.
Mavraganis reportedly added:
“When Ilias and S.M. want something, anything can happen.”
Peristeri v Promitheas (70-73, 4 April 2021) and Promitheas v AEK (80-78, 14 April 2021)
Meetings allegedly took place on Amalias Avenue as Promitheas competed for second place in the Basket League.
Koromilas reportedly guaranteed victory against Peristeri, later commenting:
“They don’t lose these matches. That’s how we’ll win the [EOK] elections too.”
Ahead of the game against AEK, for which Papapetrou and Tsaroucha were appointed as referees, Koromilas allegedly asked Mavraganis to call Liolios.
He reportedly explained that “Papapetrou and Tsaroucha want to go to the spa at Promitheas Park after the match”.
According to the testimony, Liolios reacted angrily:
“We’re in an election campaign. If someone takes a photo, we’ll be ruined. We give them so many gifts. Let them go to a spa on their own.”
Koromilas allegedly replied:
“Leave it to me. I’ll give them money to get a massage.”
During a subsequent private conversation, Mavraganis reportedly confided in Tsapas about Koromilas:
“I wish he only asked me for money, because that doesn’t leave traces. He asks for favours that could expose us because they leave traces.”
4. The holiday booking for Richard Stokes
Tsapas also testified that in June 2021 Liolios, Mavraganis and Koromilas asked him to arrange an extended holiday for Richard Stokes, then EuroLeague’s director of refereeing.
The proposed holiday was scheduled to run from 22 July to 9 August 2021.
Former EuroLeague refereeing director Richard Stokes mentioned in testimony in Greek basketball scandal https://t.co/Jpub7lki4g
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 24, 2026
Tsapas submitted the relevant booking documents to investigators.
According to his testimony, the expenses were to be covered by Liolios, allegedly for two reasons: Promitheas’s participation in the EuroCup and the desire to strengthen Tsaroucha’s prospects for EuroLeague refereeing appointments.
5. “The refereeing committee is ours now”: Matches following the 2021 EOK elections
Following Liolios’s election as EOK president in September 2021, Mavraganis and Koromilas allegedly told Tsapas:
“The Central Refereeing Committee is ours now. For important matches, you’ll tell us which referees you want so we can appoint them.”
The investigation examines several subsequent cases.
Ionikos v Aris (93-83 after overtime, 9 October 2021)
Vaso Tsaroucha was reportedly appointed following a request.
According to Tsapas, she called him the following Monday and asked:
“When are we going to settle Saturday’s matter?”
When he responded that he would speak to “her bosses”, Mavraganis allegedly told him:
“Leave it. I’ll pass it on to Ilias so he can put a stop to her demands.”
Lavrio v Ionikos (59-61, 6 November 2021)
According to the indictment, referee Petros Papapetrou was allegedly promised €5,000 in connection with the match.
Karditsa v Ionikos (85-83, 8 April 2023)
In the crucial relegation battle, Koromilas allegedly stated two days before tip-off that the instruction was to ensure Karditsa survived in the division at all costs.
He reportedly added:
“Since I’m refereeing with Vaso, Ionikos have absolutely no chance. Ionikos were finished the day you left.”
Ilisiakos v Promitheas 2014 (24 October 2024) and school championship matches in March 2026
Koromilas’s arrest warrant also includes allegations that he, Liolios and Mavraganis promised career advancement to referees identified as F.K. and A.S. in exchange for influencing matches.
The first involved Ilisiakos against Promitheas 2014, the affiliated team of Promitheas Patras, in National League 1 on 24 October 2024.
Two further allegations concern Greek national school championship matches played on 29 and 30 March 2026.
These involved the Anagennisi Schools of Patras against Hellenic College of Thessaloniki and Hypatia Schools, with the alleged intention of favouring the Patras school.
Threats, professional exclusion and an alleged refereeing cartel
Beyond financial inducements, the case file contains serious sworn allegations from referees and former senior refereeing officials about the systematic exclusion of individuals considered undesirable by the EOK leadership.
The public prosecutor has ordered copies of statements by Spiros Gontas, Pantelis Eleftheriadis and Anastasia Tsakiraki to be extracted so that a separate case file can be opened into alleged attempted unlawful coercion and incitement to commit that offence.
The allegations include the following accounts.
A.M., a Supreme Court lawyer and former FIBA international referee with a Black Licence
In sworn testimony on 18 September 2026, the witness described what he characterised as the “methodical destruction of his refereeing career” following the fifth Basket League semi-final between Lavrio and Promitheas on 29 May 2021.
Lavrio won that game and advanced to the finals.
According to A.M., who also submitted the official match report, Promitheas official and close Liolios associate Christos Milas entered the court and the referees’ dressing room after the match.
Milas allegedly subjected the officials to serious verbal abuse and threatened them, saying:
“In a few months, we’ll finish you off.”
Several months later, immediately after Liolios’s election as EOK president, former international referee Spiros Gontas reportedly informed A.M. about a meeting concerning appointments to the new Central Refereeing Committee.
International referee Ioannis Foufis was also present.
According to the testimony, Liolios allegedly asked Gontas:
“How are you going to solve the problem with A.M.?”
Gontas reportedly replied:
“The problem with refereeing is A.M., and not Ilias Koromilas?”
A.M. testified that his annual number of top-division appointments subsequently fell from between 24 and 27 matches to just six.
He also claimed he was abruptly removed from FIBA’s international referees list at the end of 2022 without justification.
In another alleged incident, in May 2022, KED member Kostas Mouzakis reportedly contacted him via Viber and asked him to falsely declare himself unavailable so he could be replaced as a referee for the Olympiacos v Peristeri match.
According to A.M., similar exclusions affected referees identified by the initials G.A. and Ch.P., as well as experienced refereeing observers identified as K.K., N.Z. and Ch.K.
P.E., former president of the Greek Basketball Referees Federation (ODKE)
In sworn testimony on 13 October 2026, the former federation president alleged that, although Greek law requires an ODKE representative to attend KED meetings, the committee’s meetings were largely a formality.
They reportedly lasted only a few minutes over Zoom, with refereeing appointments already decided in advance.
Moreover, according to official KED minutes submitted to the case file by the EOK itself, the ODKE representative stopped being invited to committee meetings after December 2024.
The 49 matches under investigation
The scale of the judicial investigation is reflected in official document number 820/21-10-2026, sent by Athens’ ninth investigating judge to the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP).
Through this document, the judge requested formal confirmation of which of the following 49 matches and competition entries, covering the Basket League, Elite League, second and third national divisions, women’s top-flight basketball, youth championships and school competitions, had been included in domestic or international betting markets.
The matches listed in the document are:
| No. | Match | Date and competition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethnikos Piraeus v Promitheas Patras | 8 June 2016, Men’s A2 |
| 2 | Faros Larissas v Aris | 17 March 2018, Basket League |
| 3 | Trikala v Panionios | 10 April 2018, Basket League |
| 4 | Ionikos Neas Filadelfias v Ilisiakos | 3 May 2018, Athens regional league (A’ ESKA) |
| 5 | Diagoras Dryopideon v Ionikos Nikaias | 15 December 2018, Men’s A2 |
| 6 | Ionikos Neas Filadelfias v Aigaleo | 19 January 2019, Third Division |
| 7 | Kastoria v Faros Larissas | 9 February 2019, Men’s A2 |
| 8 | Atalanti v OFI | 17 February 2019, Second Division |
| 9 | NE Megaridas v Aigaleo | 17 March 2019, Third Division |
| 10 | Chios v OFI | 5 May 2019, Third Division |
| 11 | Promitheas Patras v Ionikos Nikaias | 5 October 2019, Basket League |
| 12 | Ionikos Nikaias v PAOK | 12 October 2019, Basket League |
| 13 | Promitheas Patras v Lavrio | 7 December 2019, Basket League |
| 14 | Ionikos Nikaias v Panionios | 21 December 2019, Basket League |
| 15 | Ionikos Neas Filadelfias v Maroussi | 19 January 2020, Second Division |
| 16 | Lavrio v Peristeri | 1 February 2020, Basket League |
| 17 | Promitheas Patras v AEK | 16 February 2020, Greek Cup |
| 18 | Promitheas Patras matches in the final stages of the Greek U16 and U18 championships | Summer 2020 |
| 19 | PAOK v Ionikos Nikaias | 27 December 2020, Basket League |
| 20 | Peristeri v Promitheas Patras | 4 April 2021, Basket League |
| 21 | Promitheas Patras v AEK | 14 April 2021, Basket League |
| 22 | DEKA Academy v Promitheas Patras | 5 September 2021, Greek U16 Championship |
| 23 | Ionikos Nikaias v Aris | 9 October 2021, Basket League |
| 24 | Aigaleo v Panionios | 24 October 2021, Second Division |
| 25 | Lavrio v Ionikos Nikaias | 6 November 2021, Basket League |
| 26 | Doukas v Panathinaikos | 4 December 2021, U18 Championship |
| 27 | Olympiacos v Promitheas Patras | 22 January 2022, U18 Rising Stars |
| 28 | Panathinaikos v Promitheas Patras | 6 February 2022, U18 Championship |
| 29 | Diagoras Rhodes v Aiolos Agyias | 13 February 2022, Third Division |
| 30 | Karditsa v Ionikos Nikaias | 8 April 2023, Basket League |
| 31 | Promitheas Patras v Kalamata | 10 April 2023, Third Division |
| 32 | Dion Kyparissias v Promitheas Patras | 30 April 2023, Third Division |
| 33 | Ilisiakos v Promitheas 2014 | 24 October 2024, National League 1 |
| 34 | Promitheas Patras v AEK | 16 November 2024, Basket League |
| 35 | Apollon Patras v Promitheas 2014 | 17 February 2025, National League 1 |
| 36 | Promitheas Patras v PAOK | 8 March 2025, Basket League |
| 37 | Promitheas 2014 v Aiolos Agyias | 22 March 2025, National League 1 |
| 38 | Athinaikos v Panathinaikos | 23 March 2025, Women’s A1 |
| 39 | Kolossos Rhodes v PAOK | 23 March 2025, Basket League |
| 40 | Anagennisi Schools Patras v Apostles Peter and Paul Lyceum, Limassol | 10 May 2025, National School Championship |
| 41 | Anagennisi Schools Patras v Mandoulides Schools | 11 May 2025, National School Championship |
| 42 | Dafni Dafniou v Elefsina Basketball Academy | 14 May 2025, National League 2 |
| 43 | AGE Chalkidas v Doxa Lefkadas | 20 October 2025, Elite League |
| 44 | Ionios Corfu v Promitheas Patras B | 20 January 2026, National League 1 |
| 45 | Promitheas Patras v Aris | 24 January 2026, Basket League |
| 46 | Lavrio v Koroivos Amaliadas | 21 February 2026, Elite League |
| 47 | Anagennisi Schools Patras v Hellenic College Thessaloniki | 29 March 2026, National School Championship |
| 48 | Anagennisi Schools Patras v Hypatia Schools | 30 March 2026, National School Championship |
| 49 | AGE Chalkidas v Panerythraikos | 4 April 2026, Elite League |
The list ranges from Greece’s highest professional basketball division to regional, youth and school competitions, illustrating the breadth of the matches being examined.
The investigating judge is seeking to determine which of these fixtures were offered for betting in Greece or abroad.
Inclusion on the list does not, in itself, establish that a match was manipulated or that any participant committed an offence.
The EOK and KED’s position on leaked referee appointments
As part of the preliminary investigation, the Hellenic Basketball Federation submitted a written response to the Second Special Preliminary Investigation Department on 26 May 2026 through its general secretary, Lampros Takis.
KED member Dimitris Bitis also gave sworn testimony on 15 June 2026.
According to the federation’s position, the Central Refereeing Committee is a fully independent body that meets every Tuesday via video conference to decide referee appointments.
The EOK maintained that once the committee reaches its decisions on Tuesday, the appointments are circulated internally to the federation’s relevant departments.
These include the secretariat, registry department, competitions committee, IT manager and travel and accommodation services, which need the information to arrange tickets and hotel bookings.
The appointments are also forwarded to EOK board members under Article 6, paragraph 6, of the Refereeing Regulations.
According to the federation, this internal circulation takes place before referees are officially notified and before the appointments are published on the EOK’s website.
The explanation is relevant to one of the central issues raised by the investigation: how information about confidential referee appointments could have reached individuals associated with basketball clubs before the official public announcement.
The allegations outlined in the case file remain subject to judicial examination and do not constitute findings of guilt.
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