NSW Police’s Financial Crimes Squad is pushing ahead with a probe into Forum Group founder Bill Papas as Westpac and two other banks attempt to claw back funds lost in a $400 million alleged fraud.
According to The Australian, NSW Police referred the inquiries to the Financial Crimes Squad in late July after authorities were earlier alerted to allegations of fraudulent activity linked to equipment leases.
“In July this year, police received a report of an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud against a financial organisation,” a NSW Police spokeswoman said, according to The Australian.
“Initial inquiries were conducted by North Shore Police Area Command before the matter was referred to the State Crime Command’s Financial Crimes Squad. Inquiries are continuing and no further information is available at this time.”
Westpac has reported its allegations to NSW Police, the banking regulator and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission as it pursues Forum and Mr Papas in the Federal Court.
Last week, affidavits by Mr Papas were made public, revealing an empire of fast cars, houses and business interests spanning the globe.
Papas in Thessaloniki, Greece. Photo: Australian Financial Review Weekend.
Mr Papas has been in Greece since June. He failed to show up for a meeting in Perth in the middle of that month to meet management of WesTrac to explain alleged account irregularities.
He initially pledged to return to Australia before testing positive to COVID-19, and then requesting funds for a return plane ticket.
Westpac has initiated court action against Mr Papas in both Australia and New Zealand.
Greek tennis star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, reached a career high on Monday, when he officially ranked among the top three tennis players in the world, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
The new ranking sees Tsitsipas overtake Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, in the World No.3 ranking.
Tsitsipas has won 4660 points in 2021, and Nadal could not follow that pace, winning two titles but failing to reach a Major final.
“Being at the ranking that I will be tomorrow, it is a huge motivation and a very good indication that I’ve done great so far,” Tsitsipas told ATP before the ranking announcement this morning.
“[I am] just generally blessed that I’ve put in so much work to make it to the top three, which [I would consider] quite a special milestone.”
Tsitsipas first cracked the Top 10 more than two years ago after a run to the Dubai final. But the Greek sees this accomplishment on another level.
“That [Top 10 breakthrough] was a great dream of mine being fulfilled. The top three is on its own, something completely different,” Tsitsipas said.
“My purpose of doing this is self-improvement and trying to become a better person through tennis, so it matters.”
The Greek will not stop pushing to improve, though.
“I wake up every single day with a goal: to get better. To get better with my tennis, to get better in the sport that I chose to follow in my life,” Tsitsipas said.
“I’m very happy I get to play that sport. I’m very happy that I get to inspire people doing what I do.”
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, apologised on Monday “for any weaknesses” in containing the massive wildfires that have destroyed swathes of forest land and forced hundreds of people to evacuate numerous settlements over the past week.
“I completely understand the pain of our fellow citizens who saw their homes or property burning,” Mitsotakis said in a televised message, noting that the first priority was “to save lives.”
“It is obvious that the climate crisis is affecting the whole planet. With fires that last for days. That is the explanation, but not an excuse, or an alibi. We may have done everything that was humanly possible, but in many cases this did not seem to be enough in the unequal battle with nature.
Η έκταση της καταστροφής, ειδικά στην Εύβοια και στην Αττική, μαυρίζει την καρδιά όλων μας. Και πρώτος εγώ ζητώ συγνώμη για τις όποιες αδυναμίες υπήρξαν. Κατανοώ απόλυτα τον πόνο των συμπολιτών μας που είδαν τα σπίτια ή τις περιουσίες τους να καίγονται.
Mitsotakis said any failures in Greece’s firefighting response will be identified, those responsible will be held to account and people whose property was destroyed will be compensated.
He said 63 organised evacuations took place in the past few days while 586 fires broke out all around the country, which were made worse by the continuing heatwave.
Mitsotakis has been visiting areas of Greece impacted by the fires.
In the same message, he announced that he had approved a supplemental budget of 500 million euros ($587 million) to fund relief and compensation for people who have lost homes and property.
The Prime Minister will chair a cabinet meeting on Tuesday which will announce specific relief measures.
He also thanked countries that are assisting Greece with fire-fighters and equipment.
Για 6η συνεχόμενη μέρα η Βόρεια Εύβοια καίγεται. Αυτοδιοίκηση & πολίτες κραυγάζουν ότι είναι απελπιστικά μόνοι, δεν επιχειρούν επαρκείς εναέριες και χερσαίες δυνάμεις & μοναδική μέριμνα οι εκκενώσεις. Υπάρχει σχέδιο αντιμετώπισης; ΩΣ ΠΟΤΕ θα συνεχίζεται αυτό το δράμα;#Πυρκαγια
— Αλέξης Τσίπρας – Alexis Tsipras (@atsipras) August 8, 2021
In response to this apology, the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party called Mitsotakis “provocative” and “unrepentant.”
“Mitsotakis only apologised because his communication experts asked him to, but nobody understood why, since he himself doesn’t believe it” the party said in a statement.
“In the midst of a continuing tragedy the premier talked only about himself and his supposed successes, including the pandemic. Nothing was said about the collapse of the so-called executive state in the latest fires.”
Firefighters and residents battled into the night on Monday for a seventh day against a massive fire on Greece’s second-largest island, as the nation endured what the Prime Minister described as “a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions.”
Smoke and ash from Evia, a rugged island of forests and coves close to the Greek mainland, blocked out the sun and turned the sky orange.
The fire, which began August 3, is the most severe of hundreds in the past week across Greece, gobbling up pristine pine forests as well as homes and businesses and forcing thousands to quickly evacuate by sea to save their lives.
An elderly woman helped by paramedics, disembarks from a ferry which accommodated people, during a wildfire at Pefki village on Evia island. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Karadjias.
“We were completely forsaken. There were no fire brigades, there were no vehicles, nothing!” David Angelou, who had been in the seaside village of Pefki, said on Sunday night after leaving by ferry to the mainland.
“You could feel the enormous heat, there was also a lot of smoke. You could see the sun, a red ball, and then, nothing else around.”
Greek media reported that multiple previously extinguished fires had reignited on Evia on Monday and were moving at speed towards yet more villages and the 7,000-population town of Istaia.
A firefighter and locals rush to a burning house to extinguish forest fires that are approaching Pefki village, Evia. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty Images.
“Our main income comes from tourism and now our village is dead. Who wants to have their vacations on a scorched ground?” local Evia resident, Dimitra, told Al Jazeera.
Other big wildfires were still burning Monday in Greece’s southern Peloponnese region as well.
Over the past week, hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed or damaged, and at least 40,000 hectares (nearly 100,000 acres) have been burned. Power cuts on Monday affected at least 17,000 households.
Greek firefighting forces have been clearly overwhelmed, prompting two dozen countries to send help. Nine planes, nearly 1,000 firefighters and 200 vehicles have been dispatched to Greece by France, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Romania, with Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia making further offers to help over the weekend.
Firefighters operate at Ellinika village on Evia island. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Karadjias.
The causes of the blazes are as yet undetermined, though several people have been arrested for alleged arson. Greece’s top prosecutor has ordered an investigation into whether the high number of fires could be linked to criminal activity.
Two volunteer firefighters in critical condition:
The two volunteer firefighters aged 55 and 53, who were rushed to the KAT hospital in Athens on Friday, remained in critical condition on Monday.
According to a medical announcement, the two men have extensive burns and severe respiratory issues and were on mechanical ventilators in the intensive care unit.
Two other volunteer forest firefighters, 57 and 33, who suffered burns to their upper limbs, were being treated in the Plastic Surgery Burns Unit in stable condition.
Moreover, a 32-year-old Israeli firefighter was admitted earlier in the morning yesterday to the ICU at the Sismanogleio Hospital in Athens with an eyelid injury. He was given first aid and returned to the Afidnes area, where a group of firefighters from Israel is operating.
In addition, a 38-year-old man from Ilia was being treated at a hospital in Patra, western Greece after an object got lodged in his eye as he struggled to put out the fires.
So you have decided to allow your child to continue Greek lessons with their class teachers online.
Congratulations, you are a dedicated parent.
Very young students, however, need parental support to be able to do this successfully. Unfortunately for many, the helpful grandparents are just not available to help, especially with the Covid restrictions. That means that mum or dad needs to take control of the situation.
Firstly, talk to your child before the lesson and explain what is happening and why. Tell them what is expected of them and that you will be there to help.
Secondly, make sure everything works. The computer, the internet, the sound and the video.
Thirdly, it is a good idea, if you can get some indication of what the lesson will be about from the teacher or the school, as children need to know the purpose of their lesson otherwise they will feel lost and lose interest.
With this information a parent can be the best support for their chid and a great help to the teacher, allowing him or her to concentrate on the lesson rather than wasting time with technical issues that are bound to come up during the lesson.
Lastly, be there to help your child share his/ her screen of necessary, annotate when asked to, mute when they have to and unmute when they need to talk.
Technical issues are the biggest reasons children give up on the lesson and stop taking part.
If you have more than one child, it is very difficult to do. You may have to spend some time with one child and some with the other.
Make sure each child has their own study space away from younger siblings, who may distract them.
If you value what they are doing by making sure they have peace and quite to do their work, they will value what they are doing too.
I hope the advice on these columns has been useful to some of you and wish you all the best as we look forward to a future out of this Covid nightmare.
*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer.
The year was 1956 in Melbourne and the streets were filled with a festive atmosphere as people prepared for the arrival of athletes from across the world to perform in the Olympic Games.
Greek migrant, Nina Kondelos, was one of these people and as she became excited for the Games, she also began to imagine what her wedding dress would look like when she married the man of her dreams, Nicholaos, early the next year at the age of 22.
In the end, she wore a flowing white wedding dress from a bridal shop in Collins Street, Melbourne, with long sleeves and a cheeky twist – the Olympic rings embroidered around the bodice and waist.
Nina with her Olympics inspired wedding dress. Photo supplied.
“The Olympics were such a big thing here in Melbourne at the time and the Greeks would have been really proud that it started in Greece,” Debbie Argyropoulos, Nina’s daughter, tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“Mum would usually make her own clothes but in this particular case she was lucky enough to have her wedding dress done at a beautiful bridal shop.”
Love at first sight:
Such a beautifully inspired dress was fit for a young girl like Nina who first migrated to Melbourne from Ithaca, Greece in 1953 after an earthquake devastated the island.
Her later-husband, Nicholaos, also migrated to the city in 1954 from the Greek island of Lesvos and Debbie says when he first laid eyes on Nina, it was love at first sight.
“My dad spotted her at some Greek dances and he said to his friend, ‘If I could, I would marry her straight away’,” Debbie says.
It was love at first fight for Nina and Nicholaos. Photo supplied.
A second chance meeting at a Greek cinema a few days later and then again at Nicholaos’ workplace at the Astor Radio Company sealed the deal.
“At work one day, lo and behold, dad looked up and she was coming in to get a job,” Debbie says with a laugh.
The rest, as they say, was history.
Nicholaos and Nina enjoyed their Olympics inspired wedding, had their first born son Foti (Philip) and when he was two years old in 1960, bought a fruit shop in Brighton called ‘Fresh Connection.’ Later, they had two other children, Debbie and Theo.
Finding the dress:
Although Nina has sadly passed away, her legacy lives on through her husband and children.
Debbie with her mum’s wedding dress. Photo supplied.
In fact, after 61 years, Debbie and Theo are still running their parent’s fruit shop and in a nice turn of events, it was at this shop where Debbie found her mother’s wedding dress again after many years.
“I didn’t think mum had the dress anymore and then when she passed away, I found it and I found it the same year as the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004,” Debbie says.
“I found it that year in a cupboard at our shop upstairs and I was really thrilled. I felt like it was sort of meant to be.
“It’s quite delicate now given so many years but it’s all in one piece.”
A special memento of a mother who clearly had a flair for fashion.
When people hear the name Tassos Lambrou, they instantly connect it to the bouzouki legend himself – Tassos Bouzouki.
For years now, Tassos has been entertaining Sydney’s Greek community with his bouzouki playing at venues such as The Cyprus Club and The Lemnos Club.
Just last month in July, Tassos also added The Greek Herald to that list when he performed on our Facebook live to lift the spirits of our followers during lockdown.
He was so well-received we just had to find out more about the live Greek music specialist and bouzouki teacher. Here’s what he had to say.
1.Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My father George is from the island of Lemnos, a beachside village called Platy. My mother Helen is from a village called Anglisides about 15km southwest of Larnaca in Cyprus.
Tassos playing the bouzouki. Photo supplied.
Growing up, I was exposed to Greek music from birth since my father (also a Greek musician) played the keyboard and accordion and sang in a Greek band. My late grandfather, Anastasios (whom I was named after), was also a Greek musician that played the clarinet. My eldest sister Penny completed up to 7th Grade piano at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney.
Greek music was embedded in me from a very young age, growing up in a musical family. My mother Helen and other sister Patricia, even though not musicians, always loved listening to a range of Greek music, from traditional to modern.
I have learnt to appreciate and love all styles of our Greek music from Classical, Nisiotika, Dimotika, Kritika, Kypriaka, Makedonitika, Ipirotika, Thrakiotika, Palia Laika & Modern Laika.
I studied 3-Unit Music in Year 12 for my HSC back in 1997 and received full marks for both Assessment and Examination components, majoring in Performance. I was selected by the Board of Studies of NSW to perform at The Sydney Opera House, as part of the ENCORE 97 concert on February 22, 1998.
Tassos is a favourite at Greek events. Photo supplied.
Encore is an annual concert of outstanding music performances from HSC Music students and is presented in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. I performed one of my six HSC performance pieces, an instrumental called “Bouzouki & Whiskey” composed by bouzouki extraordinaire, Giannis Stamatiou.
2. When did you first start playing the bouzouki?
At the age of around four years old, my late grandfather had bought me a bouzouki and baglama as a gift from Greece. This was great inspiration for me to get into learning the bouzouki but it was even before this, just hearing my father and grandfather practising at home with various band members at the time and even on their own. I would approach my father at family gatherings whilst he played away at his accordion and loved to sing along to the Greek songs he played.
People say I had it in me to become a musician, due to my passion for Greek music at such a young age, listening to a range of styles and genres. I owed it to my father George and grandfather Anastasios for their enormous inspiration.
A few years later at around seven years old, my father started taking me to a professional bouzouki player, “Chris Olympios” aka “Christaki” for bouzouki lessons. This is where I began to learn all the technical and theoretical aspects of the bouzouki. I’m extremely grateful my father had chosen one of the leading bouzouki players in the world to be my one and only teacher of this beloved instrument, the bouzouki.
Tassos is now teaching his own students. Photo supplied.
Chris and my father had me performing, doing floor shows from around nine years of age and various Greek clubs and dances. I clearly remember Chris inviting me to perform, not even a year after starting lessons, at his sister Helen’s engagement reception and then he invited my father’s whole band for his sister’s wedding reception not long after. I can also remember my first full night with my father’s band “Morias” was at a NYE Greek Dance in Newcastle 1990/91 at just 10 years old.
3. Do you have any musical highlights which made an impact on you?
In 1995, performing at a tribute concert for the great Greek composer, Manos Hatzidakis, under the instruction of maestro, Themos Mexis. In 1997, I started performing at The Cyprus Club in Sydney on my 17th birthday and was the resident bouzouki player there for the following four years, performing every Friday & Saturday night, throughout my year 12 and Bachelor’s Degree thereafter.
In 2007, performing at Sydney’s elite bouzoukia venue “NΟΤΕΣ LIVE.” In 2015, performing alongside my teacher Chris at the City Recital Hall in Sydney. This was the AXION ESTI concert held in celebration of Mikis Theodorakis’ 90th birthday. And in 2016, performing for Greek singer, Dimitris Basis, at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.
4. You were the first Greek bouzouki player ever to perform at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall as part of ENCORE 97. How did that feel?
Tassos Bouzouki.
An amazing achievement and experience to be up on stage at the Concert Hall inside Sydney’s Opera House. Felt on top of this world, and also met popular Greek-Australian singer Maria Maroulis backstage for the very first time, who also qualified for ENCORE 97. We ended up working together a decade later at “NΟΤΕΣ LIVE” bouzoukia.
5. What do you love the most about playing the bouzouki and singing?
I love sharing and promoting Hellenism through my bouzouki playing and singing, and it gives me great pleasure to entertain and be able to provide lots of “kefi” to people of all ages and ethnicities, at various functions & events.
6. What would you say to someone else who wants to start playing the bouzouki?
Don’t hesitate to contact me on 0404 035 715 or info@tassosbouzouki.com, 1st trial lesson free. Online lessons via Zoom also provided during times of lockdown. Music is life and the bouzouki is a traditional Greek instrument that gives lots of joy with both playing it as either a hobby or professionally.
Acclaimed actor, comedian and Philhellene, Stephen Fry, addressed Greek Australians during a special ‘In Conversation’ webinar on Friday, August 6 hosted by The Hellenic Initiative of Australia.
During the webinar, Fry was interviewed by fellow Philhellene and former ABC Managing Director, David Hill, and spoke openly about his love of Greek history and mythology, as well as his strong views on the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
The conversation kicked off with Fry describing how his love for Greece ‘goes a long way back’ to when he was a child and wasn’t very good at anything at school.
“But then I realised there was one thing I loved but nobody else seemed interested in and that was language itself and storytelling,” Fry explained.
“And then I discovered Greek myths, I was about 7 or 8, so I would tell these stories because I thought they were the best stories imaginable and better than I could ever make up… and people loved me for it.”
Stephen Fry and David Hill in conversation.
From there, the actor then described how he began to learn the Greek language at boarding school, immersed himself in the work of other Philhellenes such as Oscar Wilde and eventually ended up taking his first trip to Greece when he was at university.
“It was worth waiting for because it was everything I’d hoped. For the first time, to see Athens and Delphi and Olympia… this was beyond anything I could have possibly imagined and it still gives me a thrill,” Fry said.
‘We can never repay Greece’:
It’s this love for Greece which has seen Fry become one of the most prominent critics of the British Museum and their failure to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
When asked by Mr Hill about his thoughts on the topic, Fry said the fact they were stolen from the Parthenon was a “monstrous crime” because the archaeological site “is a fundamental element of Greece.”
He later added that they have not yet been returned to their rightful place because there are people in museums who are almost “genetically programmed to hate the idea of de-acquisition.”
“They believe that it’s a slippery slope. You give away one thing to one country and you’ll have to give away your entire collection and then it’ll have to be dispersed around the world,” Fry said.
Parthenon Marbles.
In response, Mr Hill prompted Fry to answer the question: Is there another solution?
“There is a way of returning it which would solve so many problems. That is, we live in a world where it is technically possible to create a fantastic, let’s call it ‘Parthenon Experience’ in the British Museum,” the actor said.
“Because they’re marbles, a cast can be made of them so the British Museum can keep an almost identical cast of everything they’ve had for the last 200 years and then pack up and send the originals by lorry and train and boat… and we’d watch them be placed in the magnificent new Acropolis Museum in Athens.
“So with that ‘Parthenon Experience’ in the British Museum, you would get everything you get now plus you would see this magical moment in which the marbles were restored to their rightful place. It would be such a classy act and Britain frankly needs the world to see it do something classy.”
Having said this, Fry concluded his lecture and stressed the value of the Greek culture and history and how people “can never repay Greece” for what the country has given society.
Greece is once again the midst of one of the most terrible disasters in recent years. Over 150 fires were burning on Sunday, August 8 2021 fuelled by one of the worst heatwaves in recent times. Devastating and uncontrollable fires ravaged the whole country seeing people displaced, properties and livestock destroyed and cities, villages and outlying settlements consumed by wildfires.
Once again Greek firefighters have been grappling with this unprecedented disaster. They have not only battled the fires but also ensuring residents and animals are evacuated from the areas affected. The magnitude of the disaster had mobilised neighbouring countries, including France, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Sweden, Israel, Romania Switzerland and Poland, to lend support to the firefighting efforts.
As Australians we understand the devastation of natural disasters, including the recent bushfires which ravaged our eastern States in 2020. We are aware of the fear, anxiety and loss which the people of Greece are now feeling. We comprehend the incredible sense of loss of those who have lost their family homes and properties. We appreciate the terror of the Greek people as they face the uncertainty of the blazes, which have ravaged their homeland.
In 2018 during the devastating fires in Attiki, Melbourne’s Greek community came together and raised funds to support the Hellenic Volunteer Fire Fighting Association (HVFFA). Every cent of the money that was raised in 2018 was spent by the HVFFA on the purchase of much needed protective equipment for the firefighters.
As has become very obvious in this disaster, there is still a great need to support these heroes who selflessly put themselves in harm’s way.
As such we once again call on all of Melbourne’s Greek community to rally as one and alongside its collective heartfelt wishes and prayers, to also dig deep and donate funds that will once again be directed to the HVFFA where they will in no doubt be put to lifesaving good use.
Flames rise near houses as a wildfire burns in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, August 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters / Stringer.
Community organisations, businesses and individuals can all contribute to this drive simply by making a donation via either:
2. By direct deposit into the dedicated Greek Community – (Greek Fires) account:
BSB: 063 023
ACT: 1042 1568
Supported and endorsed by:
The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria
The Greek Precinct Association
The Hellenic Medical Society of Australia
The Greek Herald
The Panepirotic Federation of Australia
The Australian Federation of Pontian Associations
AHEPA Victoria
The Pan Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria
The Thessaloniki Association “White Tower”
The Greek Youth Generator
The Australian Hellenic Memorial Foundation
A man holding a hose is helped to climb a slope, as a wildfire burns in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, August 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters / Stringer.
The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Vic)
The Pancretan Association of Melbourne
The Society of Kalamata 23 March
The Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne and Victoria
The Lefkadian Brotherhood
The Pantrifilian Association of Melbourne and Victoria
The Federation of Messinian Organisation of Melbourne and Victoria
Hellenic RSL Sub-Branch
National Union of Greek Australian Students (Vic)
The Pontian Coordianting Committee for the Commemoration of the Greek Genocide
Greek Australian coach, Ange Postecoglou, has recorded his first Scottish Premiership win as Celtic manager, with the Glasgow side thrashing Dundee 6-0.
Postecoglou’s Parkhead tenure had got off to a rocky start, with Celtic crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers and being beaten by Hearts in the opening round of the Premiership.
But the Hoops got back on track overnight as a hat-trick to Japanese forward, Kyogo Furuhashi, led the rout of Dundee.
Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates after scoring his third goal. Photo: Getty / Steve Welsh.
The Hoops dominated across the full 90 minutes as they completed four times as many passes as their opponents and ended the match with 75 per cent possession.
Socceroos star Tom Rogic, right-back Anthony Ralston and substitute Odsonne Edouard also scored in front of their home crowd.
Edouard’s goal came from the penalty spot after a foul which saw Dundee reduced to 10 men in the 90th minute.
Postecoglou himself was pleased with the application of his side as they embraced his attacking style of play.
“We played some good football and worked awfully hard. We started the game really well and sort of set the tone,” Postecoglou said.
“It was a good performance by the players and they got their rewards for their hard work.”
Though still early days in the Aussie’s tenure, fans have quickly been won over and were in awe of how Celtic have already changed under their new manager.
Celtic, who have jumped up to fourth in the league with the win, will now face Jablonec at home in the second leg of their Europa League qualifier having claimed a 4-2 victory last week.
