By Panagiotis Dalatariof
Former Xanthi FC owner, Bill Papas (Vasilis Papadimitriou), has been sentenced to seven years in prison without parole by the Single-Member Misdemeanour Court of Xanthi.
The ruling, issued on Friday, 31 January, was based on charges that, as the club’s owner, he failed to pay employees of the professional football team their wages and legally mandated bonuses, including Christmas and Easter gifts and holiday allowances.
Under Greece’s new Penal Code, the court’s ruling is immediately enforceable, meaning Greek police are required to arrest and imprison Papas if they locate him within the country. There is no confirmation of his current whereabouts, and it remains uncertain whether he is still in Greece or has left the country.
Greek lawyer Alexandros Gialaoglou told The Greek Herald the case “is a vindication of the employees who are trying with their effort, their anguish and their own expenses to claim what they are entitled to, their due accruals from Xanthi FC and their previous major employer.”
“They offered their services to the team, rejecting proposals from other employers and unfortunately their good faith and patience have not been appreciated to this day, making them financial hostages at this time,” he added.
This is not the first time Papas has been sentenced for unpaid wages at Xanthi FC. Last year, he was sentenced to nine months in prison on similar charges, but this time, the ruling carries a much heavier sentence with no possibility of suspension.
Beyond his troubles in Greece, Papas has been convicted in an Australian civil court for a massive fraud case involving hundreds of millions of dollars against Australian banks. However, this ruling remains at the civil level rather than criminal—though potential criminal proceedings could follow.
Due to the Australian case, the Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority has frozen all of his assets in Greece for nearly three years, including his shares in the now-liquidated Xanthi FC.
While Papas is expected to file an appeal, Greek law dictates that any appeal will not suspend the execution of his sentence. This means that if found, he will be taken to prison immediately, regardless of the appeal process.
