Construction rackets under scrutiny in Athens assassination investigation
The police investigation into the Mafia-style assassination of a 54-year-old civil engineer in the northern Athens suburb of Psychiko on Tuesday morning is reportedly focusing on the victim’s professional activities on popular holiday islands where illegal construction runs rampant.
According to preliminary investigations, the victim, identified as Panagiotis Stathis, had been conducting land survey studies on Mykonos, Paros and Ios since the late 1990s through a technical company he owned with a partner, whose car he was driving when he was gunned down.
These studies were for local authorities and investors planning to build on the island, and particularly in Mykonos, where Stathis had filed a report of physical assault in 2021.
Stathis was gunned down while he was in his partner’s BMW outside their company’s headquarters, on the corner of Kritis and Eikostis Pemptis Martiou streets. He is said to have been shot by an individual on a motorcycle who drove up to the car and fired through the window.
An audio recording from the time of the shooting has indicated that the perpetrator shot a volley of bullets, paused for a few seconds, and then delivered more shots.
At least 15 shell casings have reportedly been discovered at the scene.
