Greek basketball match-fixing probe: referee remanded over €820,000 in cash as federation president Liolios prepares to testify

What the police and the warrant say

The Hellenic Police said on October 22 that officers from the Organized Crime Directorate's sports violence unit carried out a coordinated operation the previous day in Attica, Achaia and Katerini. Five people were arrested and a sixth turned himself in. Kathimerini reported that the six warrants named Liolios, two members of the federation's board and three referees.

The police statement says the warrants concern, depending on the suspect, demanding or accepting gifts or other benefits, giving or promising benefits to a referee, official or other person connected with a club or athlete, and unlawful interference intended to affect the course, form or result of a basketball game. These offences are charged where the games "are linked to betting competitions in Greece or abroad".

The warrant for Liolios was issued on October 19 by investigating magistrate Konstantinos Metos at the Athens Court of First Instance, following a prosecutor's order. According to excerpts published by CNN Greece, it alleges that from June 2016 to March 2026 he acted first as president of the club Promitheas Patras and, from September 2021, as federation president. It lists 49 incidents, ranging from Basket League games to youth and school championships, and cites payments to referees that were usually around €5,000 per incident. In one listed incident, a referee was allegedly promised career advancement for a December 2019 Basket League game to be played out with a set half-time and final outcome "serving betting plans".

The warrant says the alleged offences are felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and that immediate arrest was needed because Liolios is still active in basketball.

The first remand

Papapetrou was the first of the six suspects to testify. According to Kathimerini and CNN Greece, he told the magistrate that he had earned about €1.5 million between 2001 and 2026 from refereeing, his job as a forestry official and family income, and that he kept cash at home because he had few expenses. He denied four alleged bribery incidents described by a witness. The magistrate and the prosecutor still agreed that he should be held in pretrial detention. His lawyer, Orestis Georgiadis, said his client denies any involvement and that the charges are "flimsy".

Remand in custody is not a conviction. All six suspects deny wrongdoing. Liolios is scheduled to testify on Sunday, October 25, and three other defendants on Monday.

How the case started

According to Greek media reports, the investigation grew out of a complaint filed in April 2026 by the club Maroussi about how the federation was being run. Prosecutors then collected testimony from at least eight witnesses. Two of them, who say they took part in bribery in the past, came forward voluntarily and are not being charged under Greek leniency rules for people who help expose such crimes. The games under review also include one played outside Greece.

Government response

On October 22, the Sports Ministry said it had temporarily suspended the grants that the federation receives by law. It asked the finance ministry's General Directorate of Fiscal Audits to carry out an extraordinary audit of the federation's finances and management for 2024 to 2026, and asked the National Transparency Authority for a separate audit.

The ministry also pointed out that, in match manipulation cases, sports bodies can face financial penalties through its annual allocation of gambling revenue to sport, on top of criminal and disciplinary consequences.

The federation said its board held an emergency meeting on October 21 and would follow the case through official announcements and procedures.

Prosecutions involving bets placed on a manipulated or inside-information outcome have also reached the courts elsewhere in Europe, including the UK general election betting case in which three people were sentenced.