Georgios Savvidis, son of PAOK FC president Ivan Savvidis, was sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in an extortion case targeting a football agent who was negotiating the contract renewal of Ergys Kaçe with the Thessaloniki club in 2015. Specifically, the Three-Member Criminal Court of Appeal found him guilty of moral instigation in extortion, while recognizing mitigating circumstances including his previously clean record and good conduct.
Read more: Georgios Savvidis found guilty of moral instigation in football agent extortion
Suspensive effect of Georgios Savvidis’ appeal
The court decided that the appeal should have suspensive effect. Meanwhile, his brother Nikos was acquitted. According to the case file, the agent’s case had escalated to the arson of his wife’s car in Athens, an act for which gang members were convicted as direct perpetrators. The trigger appears to have been a deadlock in negotiations for contract renewal with PAOK’s former international midfielder, which, according to testimonies, caused unrest among the northern club’s supporters. For the Savvidis brothers, the prosecutor had requested their acquittal – a proposal that was accepted only regarding the younger of the two brothers.
What the case file reveals
The same case file included extortion in the form of providing “protection” to nightclubs or gambling establishments that were attributed to the gang, which was allegedly led by an inmate who died in 2022 (criminal prosecution against him ceased). According to the judges’ decision, for those prosecuted for criminal organization, this charge was converted to misdemeanor conspiracy and became statute-barred.
Police officer found guilty of drug smuggling
Additionally, the same court found a police officer guilty of smuggling drugs into the detention cells of the Thessaloniki Transport Sub-Directorate on behalf of detainees connected to the aforementioned gang (during 2015-16). The accused officer, who according to reports was dismissed from the force, was convicted for aggravated drug trafficking within a correctional facility. In total, the indictment included 44 individuals, of whom more than 30 were found guilty of various offenses.
