Greek basketball match-fixing: ex-federation chief Liolios jailed pending trial as magistrate asks gaming regulator to check betting on games

Four in custody, two under house arrest

Liolios testified for about three and a half hours on Sunday, October 25, the same day he announced he was stepping down as federation president. The proceedings for him and Mavraganis lasted about 12 hours in total, Kathimerini reported, before both were ordered held pending trial.

According to Kathimerini, Liolios told the magistrate that the case against him was a conspiracy by people who wanted him out of the federation, and that Mavraganis had acted on his own initiative. He also pointed to a system he introduced in August under which referees are assigned by software, which he said now applies in every league except the top-flight A1. He submitted four tax audits of his company that he said had found nothing irregular, and said he no longer wished to be involved in sport. Mavraganis testified for about 40 minutes and answered all questions put to him, the newspaper said.

Liolios' lawyer, Panagiotis Papaioannou, told ERTnews that there was "no direct link" between his client and "any result, illegal or manipulated", and that the allegations rest on the statements of two witnesses. He called pretrial detention an "extreme" measure in procedural terms.

On Monday, October 26, Koromilas became the fourth suspect to be remanded, after former international referee Petros Papapetrou on October 23. Tsaroucha and Piloidis were released under house arrest. Eurohoops reported that no cash was found at their homes and that no suspicious bank transactions were detected, which set them apart from the other defendants. All six deny wrongdoing, and pretrial detention is not a finding of guilt.

The betting question goes to the regulator

The arrest warrants concern bribery and interference with games where those games are linked to betting in Greece or abroad. To test that link, the investigating magistrate has written to the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP), the national gambling regulator, asking whether the games under investigation were offered for betting on platforms in Greece or abroad, Greek outlets Newsit and Ole reported.

The list published by Greek media covers 49 numbered entries from June 2016 to April 2026, from Basket League and Greek Cup games to lower national divisions, women's, youth and school championships. Ole reported that the magistrate's request covers 57 games in total, because one entry groups several youth games, and that 18 of them are youth or school games.

One of the school games was played in Cyprus. Politis reported on October 23 that the Ethics and Sports Protection Committee of Cyprus's National Betting Authority is in contact with the Greek authorities about a semi-final of the Panhellenic Secondary School Championship, which is held in Greece and Cyprus in alternate years. The game, played in Paphos in March 2026, ended 64-60. According to Politis, the committee is expected to decide whether there are grounds for its own investigation once it receives further information from Greece.

Money checks and a widening file

Greece's Anti-Money Laundering Authority, chaired by former deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Charalambos Vourliotis, has ordered checks of the assets and asset declarations of the six defendants and of other basketball figures not named in the case file, according to Greek media reports. Gazzetta reported that 11 more referees and officials are under scrutiny and are expected to be called to give explanations. Their names have not been published.

Federation under pressure

The federation's board held an extraordinary meeting on October 25 and named Angelos Papanikolaou as its new president, the EOK said in a statement on its website.

After a 40-minute meeting with board members on October 26, Vroutsis said: "I respect the autonomy of the federation and I do not impose decisions. But I recommend, as I must, the path of elections as quickly as possible, immediately if possible." He added that whoever runs the federation "must not be disputed and must draw legitimacy from a new, clean mandate from the clubs."

Vroutsis said state grants to the federation will stay suspended until the financial audits the ministry announced on October 22 are complete, except for spending such as payroll. Funding for basketball clubs will continue, and the leagues and national teams will continue to play as normal, he said.

The first stage of the case, including the €820,000 found at Papapetrou's home, is covered in our earlier report on the referee's remand and the start of the Greek basketball probe. Betting on an outcome known in advance has also been prosecuted elsewhere in Europe, as in the UK general election betting case.