Greek Basketball Federation President Arrested Amid Corruption Probe

Vangelis Liolios, president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, was arrested on Wednesday, October 21st, under an arrest warrant issued as part of a sports prosecution investigation. According to SPORT24, three other individuals out of six targeted by the warrant were also taken into custody.

EuroLeague referee Vaso Tsaroucha was arrested for her alleged involvement. She was apprehended by authorities at Athens Airport upon her return from Turkey, where she had officiated a EuroCup match.

One referee and a close associate of the federation president are currently being sought.

The investigation, which lasted approximately three months, focuses on allegations of active and passive corruption within sports law. Authorities are reportedly investigating a suspected network of fixed matches in the Greek top division, as well as in school and youth championships, with the incidents dating back at least five years.

The case also includes complaints from agents. Several home searches reportedly uncovered significant sums of money deemed inconsistent with the financial situations of the individuals involved. Approximately €820,000 in cash was allegedly found at the home of Petros Papapetrou during searches related to the case, a sum disproportionate to his income. Varying amounts of money were found at the residences of others.

The arrested individuals may be presented to a judge within the next few hours. Judicial authorities reportedly viewed the suspects as a potential flight risk, citing this as a key reason for issuing the arrest warrants.

Vangelis Liolios was born in Patras, Greece, in 1967. Married with four children, he is fluent in English and German. He holds a medical degree from the University of Patras and an MBA in Health Organization Management from the Hellenic Open University. Liolios practiced medicine as a pediatrician for 13 years and presented at national and international medical conferences. In 1999, he founded Coffee Island Company, Greece's largest coffee chain with over 400 locations.

A former basketball player for Promitheas Patras (1986-1991), he has served as the club's president since 2004, leading them to a Super Cup victory in 2020, making Promitheas the first provincial club to win a title in Greek basketball history. He has been president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation since September 2021.

His election to lead the federation in September 2021 ended Giorgos Vasilakopoulos' tenure, who was compelled to step down due to age limits under the new national sports law. Vangelis Liolios won with 335 votes, ahead of Panagiotis Fasoulas (180) and Aggelos Papanikolaou (90).

European refereeing was previously shaken about a year ago. In October 2025, Euroleague suspended Serbian referee Uros Nikolic, who was arrested, according to Serbian channel RTS, which reported €250,000 found at his residence.

Arrest warrants issued for:

• Vangelis Liolios: President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (HBF).
• Vasso Tsaroucha: International referee.
• Petros Papapetrou: Former referee who retired this summer.
• Tasos Piloidis: Former referee and member of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) executive board.
• Elias Koromilas: Former referee.
• George Mavraganis: Businessman.