ATHENS – Sixteen years after the deadly arson attack on the Marfin bank branch in central Athens, Greek authorities say a combination of new intelligence, advanced forensic analysis and previously unseen visual material led investigators to identify three suspects accused of carrying out the attack.
The breakthrough follows a renewed investigation into one of Greece’s most notorious unsolved crimes, which claimed the lives of three bank employees during a mass anti-austerity demonstration on May 5, 2010.
Anonymous tip reignited the investigation
According to police sources, the case was revived after an anonymous email was sent to officers in the Hellenic Police’s organised crime division, naming three alleged perpetrators of the Marfin attack, along with other individuals said to have links to the anti-authoritarian movement.
Investigators considered the information credible enough to reopen the case. Authorities re-examined the original Marfin case file alongside other criminal investigations in which the three individuals had previously appeared or were referenced.
Police sources said comparisons between evidence from multiple case files revealed similarities in physical characteristics, clothing and other identifying features that investigators believe match those of the individuals seen during the Marfin attack.
The findings were submitted to the investigating magistrate overseeing the case, who authorised the reopening of the investigation and issued arrest warrants.
New forensic analysis and video evidence
Authorities say the renewed investigation began from scratch after the case was assigned last year to the newly established Directorate for Combating Organised Crime under orders from Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis.
The inquiry was led by the Homicide Department under prosecutorial supervision.
Investigators reportedly obtained additional photographs and video footage showing not only the attack itself but also the movements of those allegedly involved before and after the firebombing during the demonstration.
Police say specialists from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Digital Evidence Unit conducted an extensive forensic comparison of the new and existing material. According to police sources, the analysis enabled investigators to identify the suspects with their faces uncovered, providing what authorities describe as compelling evidence linking them to the attack.
Two arrested, woman sought in the United Kingdom
Greek Police have arrested two 42-year-old men in Athens following coordinated raids on homes in Kypseli, Ano Liosia, Marousi and Halandri.
A third suspect, a 46-year-old woman, is believed to have been living permanently in the United Kingdom for the past six years. Authorities have informed British officials, and procedures are underway for the issuance of both European and international arrest warrants.
Police describe the two men as known figures within Greece’s anti-authoritarian movement. The woman is also alleged to have been active in the same circles but is believed to have withdrawn from that environment after relocating to Britain, where she is now married and has two children.
Greek Police are expected to provide further details once the investigation is formally completed.
The Marfin tragedy
The Marfin bank attack occurred on May 5, 2010, during one of Greece’s largest demonstrations against austerity measures, held just days before the country’s first international bailout agreement.
A group of attackers infiltrated the protest and threw Molotov cocktails into the Marfin bank branch on Stadiou Street while approximately 20 employees were still inside the building.
Three employees were unable to escape the fire and died:
- Angeliki Papathanasopoulou, 32, who was four months pregnant
- Epaminondas Tsakalis, 36
- Paraskevi Zoulias, 35
The attack remains one of the darkest moments in modern Greek history and has symbolised the deadly consequences of political violence.
With information from APE-MPA.