Despite a court order for his violent arrest to testify in the Kostopoulos case, the Hellenic Police had long claimed they were unable to locate him. However, it has now emerged that he was arrested twice in 2022, yet authorities continued to insist he could not be found.

Police officers and ‘ghost’ companies

As journalist Anna Nini reported on OmniaTV, on Friday, January 10, authorities announced the arrest of 19 individuals, including four police officers from the DI.AS. unit and the Financial Police, in connection with a criminal organisation.

According to the case file compiled by the Hellenic Police, the group engaged in large-scale fraud, syphoning state funds by setting up 40 fake companies, registered under the names of homeless individuals to evade VAT payments.

Among the main defendants is the “man in the yellow shirt”, widely known from the Kostopoulos case. His full name, patronymic, date, and place of birth match those of the individual wanted for questioning in the brutal killing of activist and drag performer Zak Kostopoulos/Zackie Oh.

Arrested twice, yet “untraceable”

Despite a court order for his forcible appearance, the Hellenic Police repeatedly claimed they were unable to locate him to testify about the fatal beating of Zak Kostopoulos. However, records now show that:

  • He was arrested on January 6, 2022, by the Palaio Faliro Security Department, yet the police continued to insist he could not be found.
  • He was arrested again on December 5, 2022, by the Athens Security Sub-Directorate, on an outstanding 2017 arrest warrant—yet authorities still claimed he was untraceable.

The revelations raise serious questions about police involvement and potential cover-ups in the Kostopoulos case, as well as their connections to organised crime.

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