Former president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, denied the 49 charges brought against him in the alleged basketball match-fixing case in a defense memorandum submitted to the investigating magistrate. He also described the indictment as “vague and unsubstantiated,” claiming that he had been targeted in an attempt to blackmail him and orchestrate the destruction of his personal and professional standing.

In his defense memorandum, Vangelis Liolios presents his version of events surrounding his meeting with Dimos Stasinopoulos, owner of Maroussi Basketball Club (KAE Maroussi). He challenges the credibility of witnesses and their statements and argues that the evidence does not establish any specific intervention by him in refereeing decisions.

“I had absolutely no involvement whatsoever, much less any participation as a perpetrator,” he states in his memorandum, denying the acts attributed to him. He says the accusations damage his reputation, character and professional career, and claims that his involvement in the case was part of an effort to remove him from the leadership of the EOK and undermine his business and personal standing.

The meeting with Stasinopoulos

Liolios devotes particular attention to a meeting he says took place on April 14, 2026, with Dimos Stasinopoulos at the EOK offices.

According to his account, the owner of Maroussi Basketball Club came to his office to discuss the team and refereeing. Liolios says Stasinopoulos complained about the way Maroussi was being treated by referees and referred to his financial investment in the club, saying: “I’ve put in one million. Why should I be the one to lose it?”

According to Liolios’s account, Stasinopoulos then referred to private messages he had exchanged with Ilias Papatheodorou when the latter was working for Promitheas Patras.

When Vangelis Liolios asked how he had obtained knowledge of the messages, Stasinopoulos reportedly replied, “Ilias.”

Liolios claims the meeting had a blackmailing character and was intended to secure favorable refereeing treatment for Maroussi. In this context, he writes: “Stasinopoulos, then, acting as a common blackmailer, was the first to attempt to demand illegal benefits from me.”

According to Liolios, the conversation was recorded by the security system at the EOK offices. He says he filed a complaint with the federation’s Ethics Committee and subsequently lodged a criminal complaint against Stasinopoulos, Papatheodorou and other individuals. In his memorandum, he links the case to the publication of private messages, arguing that they were used against him.

The complaint by referee Maglogiannis

In the same context, Liolios cites a complaint made by a referee concerning allegedly threatening messages he reportedly received following the Peristeri–Maroussi game on December 6, 2025.

According to Liolios’s memorandum, the referee reported receiving two messages the day after the game from a telephone number he attributed to the owner of Maroussi Basketball Club. Liolios refers to this case and to the subsequent actions that, according to him, were taken by the relevant EOK bodies.

“I do not know Kalogeropoulos”

The former president makes particular reference to a referee who is a key witness in the case. He claims that he does not know the referee personally and that they have never communicated or met.

“I must make it clear immediately that I do not know this gentleman. I do not even recognize him by sight, and I have certainly never spoken to him, never met him, and never had any contact with him,” he states.

Liolios also addresses a statement attributed to the referee-witness, who reportedly said: “Although I cannot prove it, I am certain that Mr. Liolios was involved because of his relationship with Mr. Mavraganis.”

Liolios argues that this statement is not supported by any specific incident or evidence linking him to interference in refereeing.

He also challenges the completeness and accuracy of the referee’s testimony, claiming there are discrepancies between photographs of conversations and the written account submitted as evidence. According to his allegations, some messages are missing, while other passages differ in content.

He points to a discrepancy in a name: in a screenshot of a conversation, the name “Kapris” appears, whereas the memorandum reportedly refers to “Kriti.” On the basis of these differences, he raises questions about how the material was collected and presented, as well as why, according to him, the referee’s mobile phone was not seized so that the conversations could be examined in their entirety.

“Nowhere in these conversations is my name mentioned; nowhere is any action of mine mentioned; I am nowhere to be found,” he notes.

The messages with Papatheodorou

Part of the memorandum also concerns Liolios’s relationship with coach Ilias Papatheodorou, with whom, he says, he maintained a close personal and professional relationship while Papatheodorou was working for Promitheas Patras.

Vangelis Liolios presents messages that, according to the memorandum, the two exchanged in 2025, when Papatheodorou was considering an offer to become head coach of Maroussi.

In a message dated May 28, 2025, Liolios reportedly wrote:

“Our children are our wealth. And only them. I’m not telling you this by chance. The fact that you’ll be in Athens and able to hug your daughter every day is the most important thing. Above and beyond money and budgets… And you made the right decision for your family!!!”

In another message, dated June 7, 2025, he reportedly wrote:

“Listen to me and trust me. If the offer is real, listen to me and trust me. Leave now. You’ll remember what I’m telling you.”

Liolios cites these exchanges to argue that their communications concerned personal and professional matters and that he encouraged the coach to move to Athens so he could be closer to his family.

He also refers to questions that, according to his account, were put to Papatheodorou about alleged incidents of interference in refereeing. According to the memorandum, the coach reportedly answered that he was unaware of any specific incident in which Liolios or co-defendant Mavraganis had intervened with the Central Refereeing Committee.

Regarding a message that mentions the names of referees, Liolios argues that it was sent after the referee appointments had already been made, not beforehand. He insists that there was no prior coordination.

Contradictions in witness testimony

Vangelis Liolios also challenges the credibility of a witness who is a former team owner, disputing statements the witness made about games and incidents in Greek basketball.

He specifically refers to the Greek Cup final between Promitheas Patras and AEK on February 16, 2020. Liolios cites differing accounts of the game by witnesses, arguing that they do not agree on how Promitheas was treated by the referees.

In his memorandum, he quotes, among other things, a statement attributed to a referee that reads: “PROMITHEAS lost the cup; the referees made some human errors.”

Liolios contrasts this description with the testimony given by the former team official, raising questions about the consistency of the accounts concerning the same game.

He also refers to Promitheas matches against PAOK and Olympiacos, in which the Patras team won by margins of 38 and 12 points, respectively. He cites these results as part of his challenge to the allegations, arguing that the indictment does not identify specific refereeing decisions that would demonstrate that the results were manipulated.

In his defense memorandum, Liolios also discusses the Professional Sports Committee, claiming that information about proceedings being conducted against him was leaked to specific media outlets.

He further cites earlier disputes with Panathinaikos Basketball Club (KAE Panathinaikos) over matters concerning the Central Refereeing Committee, as well as decision No. 51/2025 of the Supreme Council for the Resolution of Sports Disputes (ASEAD), which he presents as part of the background to the conflict.

Liolios alleges that members of the Professional Sports Committee had partisan loyalties in favor of Panathinaikos and refers to actions he says he had taken against the committee’s president.

Legal arguments

In the legal section of his memorandum, Vangelis Liolios challenges the adequacy and clarity of the indictment, arguing that it does not specify in concrete terms the actions he allegedly took to manipulate matches.

He also raises an issue concerning the response from the Gaming Supervision and Control Commission regarding which of the 49 matches were connected to betting competitions in Greece or abroad. According to Liolios, by the time he submitted his memorandum, he had not received the response he had requested. As a result, he argues, the basis for classifying the alleged acts as felonies had not been clarified.

He also asks for four school championship matches to be excluded, arguing that schools are not recognized sports associations under the meaning of Law 2725/1999.

“Today, I am accused and being held in custody, while the felony classification of the acts attributed to me has not been clarified,” he states, describing the indictment as “vague and unsubstantiated.”

Business activities

In his memorandum, Vangelis Liolios also discusses his business activities, personal life and tax record.

He refers to his business career, the founding of Coffee Island, his family and his clean criminal record.

He also states that between 2015 and 2025, he paid a total of €75,425,531.14 in taxes and other charges, and cites tax audits that, he claims, did not uncover any violations.

He presents these details as part of his broader argument concerning his personal and professional history.