EOK grants temporarily suspended — all six defendants deny the charges
Financial audits of the federation have been requested. ERT reports that all six defendants deny the charges; questioning remains scheduled for 23, 25 and 26 October.
Updated 22.10.2026 · 17:08, Athens time — What changed
ERTnews’s latest court report on 22 October says all six defendants deny the charges. Their lawyers are reviewing the case file ahead of questioning. This expands the earlier account of one defence lawyer’s position, without assessing the defence claims.
The questioning dates of 23, 25 and 26 October are unchanged in the latest report. No final judgment on the charges has been announced. The temporary suspension of EOK grants and requested audits are detailed below.
Earlier updates — history
Updated 22.10.2026 · 16:14, Athens time — What changed
Sports minister Giannis Vroutsis has decided to temporarily suspend the statutory grants to the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), according to the official announcement dated 22 October.
He requested an extraordinary fiscal and management audit for 2024, 2025 and 2026 by the Finance Ministry’s General Directorate for Fiscal Audits, as well as a financial and management audit by the National Transparency Authority.
The announcement gives no amount of suspended funding, end date for the measure or audit findings. The administrative measure and audit requests are not a criminal conviction or a finding that defendants are guilty.
Earlier updates — history
Updated 22.10.2026 · 12:59, Athens time — What changed
Hellenic Police confirmed on 22 October that all six arrest warrants had been executed. The operation took place on 21 October in Attica, Achaia and Katerini. Officers located five people; one attended the police service voluntarily and was arrested there.
Police say searches of homes, in the presence of judicial officials, led to seizures of €931,463, 14 mobile phones, six laptops and digital storage devices, among other items. The announcement does not automatically identify the entire sum as proceeds of an offence.
The next procedural stage
ERTnews’s court reporting on 22 October says the six were granted time before appearing for questioning: former referee Petros Papapetrou on Friday 23 October at 13:00; Hellenic Basketball Federation president Vangelis Liolios and businessman Giorgos Mavraganis on Sunday 25 October at 10:00; and the remaining three defendants on Monday 26 October. These dates are attributed to ERT’s reporting and do not appear in the police release.
ERT also reports that Tasos Piloidis’s lawyer, Nikos Galanis, said his client denies involvement. The arrests, seizures and procedural deadlines are not convictions. Alleged interference in games and bribery offences remain subject to judicial investigation.
Earlier report — history
A Greek sports prosecutor issued six arrest warrants in an investigation into alleged basketball match-fixing, according to corroborating reports by Reuters and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on 21 October 2026.
The warrants concern bribery charges under sports law. Reuters, citing police officials and AMNA, reported that the people under investigation are linked to the Hellenic Basketball Federation and include officials, a businessman and referees.
The confirmed procedural stage
A police official told Reuters that most of the warrants had already been executed and that homes were searched for evidence. Those arrested are expected to appear before an investigating magistrate on Thursday 22 October to respond to the charges.
Issuing or executing a warrant is not a conviction. The alleged acts remain accusations under judicial investigation and the presumption of innocence applies.
What the investigation is examining
Reuters reported that the months-long investigation followed official complaints and is examining possible illegal activity in different divisions of Greek basketball over the past decade. AMNA reported that about 50 games are being scrutinised by judicial authorities.
That figure describes the scope of the inquiry; it does not establish that every match was manipulated or that every person involved committed an offence. The substance of the charges and the evidence will be assessed through the criminal process.
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