An incredible case with a dead man as the central figure areopagite and background half a million eurosfrom the huge estate of, who a few months before the death of the highest judicial official, “made wings”, leaving his heirs in the… mat, presents the newsit.gr.
The hijacker, who died paralyzed and with serious psychiatric problems, had appointed a power of attorney to pay the doctors and psychiatric hospitals he was hospitalized from time to time, the taxi driver his brotherwho is accused by the remaining heirs that while the deceased had made a will in which he distributed the huge property which includes real estate and cash, the taxi driver grabbed 500,0000 eurosleaving residuary legatees, speechless and “tap!”.
However, the court decision presenting the newsit.gr and published a few days ago, sheds light on this dark case and unfolds details, which seem taken from Hitchcock film vindicating his sister who followed through her lawyer Mr. Tellou Agapinos the legal way.
In particular, on November 19 the Single-member Court of First Instance of Kefallinia issued a decision according to which he recognizes that the robbery of the areopagite’s cash has been done by his taxi driver brother, obliging him to return to his heirs, their share of the amount he seized!
The transfer of half a million and the judgment vindicating the heirs
The thriller with the death of the areopagite and the great rapture according to the court order began to be written on January 1, 2019 with the death of the highest judicial officer. As stated in the petition and in accordance with what his sister has testified, through Mr. Tellou Agapinou, the supreme judge, had drawn up a public will with which – among other things – he established co-heirs herself, his taxi driver brother and the two children of his other brother who had passed away before him.
“In the last years before his death, the decedent suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder and recurrent depressive disorder, unable to take care of himself and for this reason on 26.04.2017, he drew up a notarial power of attorney for the management of his three bank accounts to cover the daily of vital needs, but his will as expressed in the public will was to pass after his death to his aforementioned four heirs. On May 7, 2018, and in complete contradiction to his will expressed in the public will, his brother transferred from his brother’s bank account at the National Bank of Greece an amount of 490,194.34 euros to his own bank account, acting illegally and contrary to the agreement by abusing the internal relationship between them and reaped the full amount. During the transfer of the money, he committed the crime of embezzlement at the same time as his heir sister received 1/3 of her brother’s undivided will and therefore she has the right and legal interest to demand the corresponding amount from the other party on the above money which corresponds to 163,398.11 euros. Based on the facts, the applicant, citing that the opposing party has shown a special ability to “disappear”, hide and make it impossible to locate the total amount of 490,194.34 euros, gradually and steadily, spends it for his personal needs and how after the illegal transfer of the money, an existing encumbrance was eliminated from a loan belonging to him at the time and a percentage of 50% of undivided real estate farmhouse. In addition, while she was suggested by her brother to return this amount to her after appealing to justice, however, he suddenly changed his attitude and refuses to do so.”
Hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals and expenses in restaurants, supermarkets and florists
In the following pages, reference is made to the heavy medical history of the areopagite and the account movements made by the taxi driver, his brother.
“The hijacker died on 01.01.2019 in Argostoli, where he lived during the last years of his life, without leaving any descendants or wife, as his wife, with whom they had no children, had died before him, specifically in the year 2012. He at the time of his death made a public will, by which he revoked all his previous wills and established among other things his co-heirs his sister and his brother in proportion to 1/3 and each of his nephews, two children of their pre-deceased brother in proportion to 1/6 in his deposits and in Eurobank, Alpha and Ethniki banks.
It is also possible that Areopagite in the last years before his death suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder and recurrent depressive disorder due to which the period from December 26, 2015 to December 5, 2018, less than a month before his death on January 1, 2019 he had been hospitalized at least five times in three private psychiatric clinics in Attica, “Galini”, “Panagia Grigorousa” and “Synouri clinic”. The intervals for which he was required to be hospitalized varied. So sometimes his hospitalization lasted only a few days, while in other cases it exceeded a month. He was therefore aware that he was unable to take care of himself as, in addition to the above psychiatric problems, he also faced very serious cardiac problems, as a result of which in 2015 he had undergone open heart surgery at the private Hygeia clinic, after a myocardial infarction and at a cost of hospitalization that had far exceeded them 100,000 eurosdrew up on April 26, 2017 a power of attorney in which he gave a special mandate and power of attorney to his brother to manage at his discretion a bank account at the Eurobank bank and two more accounts at the National Bank of Greece.
In particular, it was mentioned in the notarial power of attorney, indicatively and not restrictively, that his brother has the right to take over any amount from his brother’s bank account, to sign the relevant documents, to renew them, to transfer money from these accounts of third parties, etc. It is also probable that on May 7, 2018, the brother, by virtue of this power of attorney, transferred an amount of 490,194.34 euros from an account maintained by his brother to his own bank account. Six months later, specifically on 5/11/2018, he closed his brother’s bank account, from which the disputed amount had been transferred.
The brother, trying to justify the expediency of the actual transfer from his brother’s bank account to his individual account, argues that at that time, that is, in the month of May 2018, his brother’s obligation was constantly increasing, as a pressing need had arisen to undertake sums at any time and that the presentation of the power of attorney each time to the competent employees of the National Bank and their control and subsequent approval of the transaction, caused difficulties in the immediate coverage of the urgent needs and financial obligations of his brother unable to support himself.
However, from the state of the analytical movements of the deposit account of the heir in the same bank, to which his pension was also credited monthly, it is probable that during the years 2017 and 2018, dozens of transactions were made seamlessly with various types of commercial enterprises – apparently with the use of a debit card – bakeries, petrol stations, mobile phone shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, florists etc.- texts both in Attica and Kefalonia. At the same time, significant sums were apparently paid as hospitalizations – on the one hand to the “Panagia Grigorousa” psychiatric clinic and on the other to the private Hygeia clinic. Therefore, no need for practical facilitation of the brother in his dealings with third parties concerning his brother was served by the transfer of the 490,194.34 euroslike himself, is completely unfounded, he claims, given that absolutely no difficulties are likely to have been faced by him over time in the timely satisfaction of his brother’s daily needs and financial obligations, which, on the contrary, he covered without interruption for two consecutive years, drawing money from the other deposit account of the inheritor.
Likewise, the claim that his brother’s wish was for this money to go to him in this way, as a donation without any tax burden on him, is not at all convincing. Because the inherited retired chief justice had regulated his legal relations both during life and after his death, in a completely clear way.
The first ones by virtue of the aforementioned power of attorney through which the brother managed money, his money, and the second ones, through his said public will in which he clearly states his will as to the fate of the money that would be deposited upon his death in his bank accounts, a little or a lot, to the aforementioned four persons, including the present parties. On the contrary, it is probable that the brother, abusing the internal relationship between himself and his brother – a mandate contract – transferred the amount to his own account, not to better serve, with this money, any urgent needs of his brother but to conceal their existence from any other heirs.
For this reason, six months after the transfer, he proceeded to close the bank account on Saturday, a move that served no other purpose than to hide the information from any other – except him – heirs of his brother”.
In closing, the court, as stated in the decision, orders: “The preventive seizure of all movable and immovable property of the brother In order to secure the applicant’s claim against him up to the amount of 163,398.11 euros” as well as the coverage of court costs.
The legal point of view
The Areopagite’s sister’s lawyer Mr. Dear Endemphasizes to newsit.gr that “this is an extremely interesting case from a legal point of view in an issue that unfortunately many Greek families face, when an elderly or incapacitated member authorizes another member to handle his bank accounts to meet daily needs and unfortunately it is not rare that this relationship of trust is abused and the money of the overage principal “disappears” shortly before his death. One such case of a distinguished Chief Justice we have recently dealt with successfully, and we are already pleased to have attached the hitherto missing inheritance of his sister and nephews to the accounts of her abuser.”