Demis Nikolaidis, former AEK Athens player and president, testified to the police on March 28 regarding the club’s unpaid taxes, and was released to give testimony next week to the Athens public prosecutor.
“I gave myself to the authorities of my own accord and gave testimony regarding debts of 35 million euros which were restructured during my time as president. It is very correct that the state is investigating to find out who has paid and who has not paid. A lot of mud has been thrown, but up until the time I left the club everything which was due to be paid was paid on time. The legal process is progressing well as far as I am concerned and I hope justice is served because the team is in debt and is dying, and it must be saved.” Nikolaidis told reporters.
Nikolaidis was the forty second president of AEK Athens F.C., and is considered one of the finest footballers Greece has ever produced. He became AEK’s president in 2004 after a successful career. As the club’s president, Nikolaidis set a goal that he would remove all AEK’s debts and make the team a powerful force in Europe. In 2008, Nikolaidis decided that he would quit as chairman of AEK. One of the reasons was that the team didn’t sell 30,000 season tickets.
AEK Athen’s current president Andreas Dimitrelos was arrested on March 22 for 170 million euros in taxes owed by the Greek top club. He was released on a 40,000-euro bail.
AEK said the alleged offenses occurred before Dimitrelos’ tenure at the club, which started last year, and said the tax arrears were being settled under a debt-restructuring procedure initiated by the club under the country’s bankruptcy code.
As Reuters reports, Athens public prosecutor Grigoris Peponis has also issued warrants for the arrest of the club’s presidents from 2004 to October 2012.
AEK is 11th in the 16-team Greek Super League after their worst start to a season afflicted by financial struggles.
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