Elias Koromilas, one of the six individuals arrested in connection with “Basketgate,” the Greek basketball scandal involving alleged match-fixing, appeared before the investigating judge at the Evelpidon Courthouse on Monday morning.
The former referee and current special advisor on refereeing denies all charges brought against him by the Greek justice system, regarding the nine counts of bribery attributed to him, involving referees and sports officials.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Ilias Koromilas emphasizes that he has never committed any criminal offense and has always acted within the scope of his duties.
Regarding the sums of money found at his residence during the investigations, he presented documents and receipts to the 9th Regular Investigating Judge to account for the 102,000 euros.
Furthermore, he claimed that he could also account for the 263,000 euros, which, according to his defense, was paid to him as compensation after the end of his refereeing career, and he subsequently withdrew the funds from his bank account.
As for the complaint filed by a Ukrainian referee and included in the case file, Ilias Koromilas maintains that the allegations regarding his intention to give a “gift” 10,000 euros in exchange for favorable officiating for Unics Kazan in the 2021 EuroCup final, “are not of criminal interest, as an official complaint had already been filed by that time,” and the case has since been closed.
It should also be noted that before the start of his testimony, the accountant for I. Koromilas, who had been proposed as a witness by the defense, was present in the investigator’s office.
*photo source: Eurokinissi
