SCANDAL OF AIRCRAFT WITH CONTRACTS OF MORE THAN €30million - MOTHER, BROTHER, DAUGHTER AND NIECES OF OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY WERE LINKED TO COMPANIES THAT CLOSED GOLD-BEARING DEALS WITH THE STATE - Filenews 19/4 by Fanis Makridis
The findings of the investigators of the Crime Fighting Department (TKE) of the Police Headquarters in relation to the scandal of the contracts with the forest firefighting aircraft constitute a challenge to human morality and intelligence.
The case came back to the fore with a recent decision of the Supreme Court in the context of examining a request from a prime suspect, while it is in the news in view of the "hot" summer season, which is accompanied by an increased risk of fires.
These circumstances were the trigger for a new attempt to search for evidence on the part of "F". An effort that resulted in journalistic findings and shows that now the members of the TAE Police Headquarters have collected evidence, which not only causes a sensation, but seems capable of leading the case to the registration and bringing of a number of suspects to the Court.
Three ministers
But what exactly do the findings of the criminal investigation reveal? The offers for the rental of forest firefighting aircraft, the purchase of pilot services and aircraft maintenance were the focus of three officials of the Department of Forests.
The investigations of the Police investigators have shown that in an indirect way all three were connected to companies that received public money. They were closing gold-bearing deals, since only in one case did a company win contracts worth around €32 million.
In summary, the findings of the investigators, some of which were the subject of court proceedings in the context of the case:
>> Mother, daughter, best men, nieces and brother...
The investigators, looking for the role of the three suspicious officials of the Department of Forests, identified behind companies, which had large profits from the state thanks to the gold-bearing contracts, relatives of the audited.
In a company linked to a legal entity, which secured three contracts worth more than €30 million, the shareholder and official was the mother of the main suspect.
In another case, a company that won 18 contracts worth about €2 million had as director, secretary and shareholder the brother of one of the suspected officials of the Department of Forests. At a later stage, 50% of this legal entity was transferred to the daughter of the same officer of the Department of Forests and the remaining 50% to his nieces.
In fact, according to an anonymous written complaint made to the Police during the investigation of the case, two of the suspects are best men with each other.
>> They were trafficked by company vehicles
Two of the three suspects of the Department of Forests were also found driving cars of companies that had profits from contracts with the state. They traded with them on a daily basis, while they themselves were linked to documents of legal entities that profited from public contracts.
>> In the role of coordinator
The main suspect in the case was also a coordinator in the evaluation committee of a large number of tenders. In fact, these tenders, which were won by specific companies, had a total value of tens of millions of euros.
>> Buying services with a common denominator
As it is known, the Police investigators began to examine the contracts of the Department of Forests for eight years, i.e. from 2017 to 2024. This was preceded by an administrative investigation carried out on the initiative of the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou and instructions from the Attorney General. The members of the TAE Headquarters found that during this period 15 tenders were announced for the purchase of services in relation to forest firefighting aircraft, with nine being cancelled and six of them being awarded in favour of a specific company. In five of the six tenders awarded, the coordinator of the Evaluation Committee was the same officer of the Department of Forests, i.e. the main suspect, who even used the company's car with the successful bid in his transportation.
>> Three tenders, €32 million
Within a four-year period within the aforementioned period, three tenders related to the lease of aircraft were awarded to a single company for a total amount of €32,194,500. As the examiners of the case found, the coordinator in the Evaluation Committee of two of these three tenders was again the same person. The legal entity that won these contracts was cooperating with another legal entity, the owner of which was the mother of the same officer of the Department of Forests who participated in the evaluation. The latter, according to testimonies obtained by the Police, also acted as a representative of the company that had his mother as a shareholder.
>> "Directed" tender with aircraft devices
In another competition for devices used on aircraft - and always according to testimony - the specific employee of the Department of Forests directed the coordinator of the Evaluation Committee to four specific corporate entities. One was the one who owned his mother. The other was a company that he allegedly favoured in other tenders.
>> 18 competitions in the same company
Between the 8 years in question (2017-2024), 22 tenders were held for technical services and related equipment. Of these, four were cancelled. The other 18 were awarded in favour of a company, which in 17 of them was the sole bidder. The value of the 18 tenders amounted to €1,711,610. In 10 of these competitions, the coordinator of the Evaluation Committee was the main suspect.
In addition, the director, secretary and shareholder of the corporate organization that won the tenders had as an official and shareholder the brother of another suspicious official of the Department of Forests. As we noted above, in the end the shares were transferred to the daughter (50%) and the two nieces (50%) of the civil servant in question. The latter, according to testimony obtained by the Police, allegedly had a strange role in another tender won by the same company that cost the state 40% more than what was provided for in the original contract. The amount eventually exceeded €1 million.
>> Champions of contracts
As "F" is informed, the testimonies collected by the Police show that several tenders related to the Flying Assets Unit of the Department of Forests had such specifications that they were within the measures of specific bidders. In particular, three corporate organizations have always benefited from tenders, always managing to win contracts with the public sector.
He jumped into the void from the balcony and suffered a fracture
- Cheques in his name with a five-digit amount were found at the company's offices
>> Connection with the company that had the mother of the main suspect as the owner, there is also another employee of the Department of Forests. The latter, over a period of three years, used for his movements cars belonging to this very corporate entity.
>> When, in fact, members of the TAE went to the registered address of the company for further investigation, the main suspect and the owner's son was in the specific building facility. In fact, when the investigators entered the area, he jumped from the balcony, apparently to avoid being noticed, as a result of which he suffered a broken leg.
>> When investigators searched the offices of a company that won contracts with the state, it was found that this legal entity had issued cheques in the name of the main suspect for a five-figure sum.
How the tangle of the unprecedented case unravelled
- Letter-complaint in the summer of 2024 that spoke of suspicious transactions
The tangle of the case unravelled in the summer of 2024 after a tender for the lease of two forest firefighting helicopters. In the competition, which was coordinated by the officer of the Department of Forests who is now the main suspect, there were practices that caused shadows.
This was followed by a letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou, from an affected company. The relevant letter clearly referred to incidents that demonstrated criminal responsibility. There was also talk of financial rewards.
Following this, the minister gave a directive at the end of July 2024 in order to conduct an administrative investigation to determine whether disciplinary or criminal offenses arise in relation to this competition.
The investigation was completed at the beginning of December and the minister immediately informed the Attorney General. In the middle of the same month, the Legal Service instructed the TAE of the Police Headquarters to investigate the possibility of any person committing criminal offenses.
After the first stage of the police investigations, suspicions emerged for a total of eight persons. Four natural and equal legal ones. As far as the four natural persons are concerned, the police investigations that were carried out focused on the three officials of the Department of Forests and a company director.
The Headquarters Crime Investigation Department investigated offenses of (1) defamation of a public official, (2) extortion of remuneration from a public official, (3) bribery to show favour from a public official, (4) abuse of power, (5) corruption and others. Some of the offences in the event of a person's conviction carry a prison sentence of up to seven years. In other words, these are felonies.
The investigators of the TAE Headquarters have already made requests for assistance in order to open bank accounts of all persons, who were directly or indirectly related to contracts of the Department of Forests (from 2017 onwards) and companies for the lease of helicopters and aircraft that are able to carry out forest firefighting operations.
The subject of examination by the investigators is more than 30 offers made for contracts with the public sector in the field of aerial firefighting.
Investigative testimony from the mother of a suspect
On August 28, 2025, the mother of the main suspect was interrogated. The latter, as we noted, participated in the competent body of the Department of Forests, which evaluated and gave a final recommendation for the award of tenders to specific companies, either for the rental of aircraft or for the purchase of services from aircraft pilots. The mother of the official in question participated in a company, which is linked to another business entity to which tenders of millions of euros were awarded.
Suspended for six months
The three officials of the Department of Forests who are being investigated for the case had been suspended for six months and returned to public service on 24/7/2025, when the maximum period of time that a public official can be suspended expired. As reported to "F" at the time by a competent official, the General Directorate of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture has taken all the appropriate measures so that the return of the three officers is smooth and the ongoing police investigations are not affected in any way. He explained that the duties to which they were assigned are such as to prevent any risk of affecting the ongoing police examinations. In a circular of the Public Service Commission in relation to the suspension of civil servants, it is pointed out that "the maximum period of time that an employee can be suspended, for the purposes of the investigation, is three months, a period that can only be extended for another three months".
An attempt to issue an annulment decree in vain
According to our recent publication, the main suspect's attempt to issue a decree of annulment by the Supreme Court fell on deaf ears. A relevant decision at his request was issued on 28/3/2026. Through his lawyers, the applicant attempted to cancel a court warrant obtained by the Police (19/3/2025) with the aim of having access (inspection and download) to recorded content of private communication from a mobile phone he owned.
Inevitably, from the argumentation of the applicant's lawyers for the annulment of the warrant in question, screen shots that had been stored on another suspect's portable storage drive (usb) and captured the content of private communication were found in the foreground. The applicant considered that this communication of the other suspect had previously come into the possession of the Police and it was on the basis of this that they requested to secure the disputed court warrant. Supreme Court Judge Jasmine N. Giasemis, ended up rejecting the request.
