On 23 November 1988, George Koskotas fled Greece, triggering a dramatic turn in the Bank of Crete scandal that had already begun to shake the nation’s political establishment. Koskotas, the owner of the Bank of Crete, was accused of embezzling over $200 million to fund his business ventures and allegedly bribe members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) government led by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. His flight, first to Brazil and later to the United States, added to the growing public outcry over corruption at the highest levels of government.
The scandal led to the resignation of several PASOK officials and significantly tarnished the party’s reputation. Koskotas was arrested in Massachusetts and extradited to Greece in 1991, where he stood trial and was convicted of embezzlement, forgery, and obstruction of justice. The affair contributed to PASOK’s electoral defeat in 1989 and highlighted serious governance and accountability issues within Greece.
The Koskotas scandal remains one of Greece’s most infamous cases of political corruption. It not only exposed systemic flaws but also underscored the importance of institutional safeguards to prevent such abuses of power, leaving a lasting impact on the nation’s political landscape.
