Psomiadis to be handed over to Greek authorities

Page last updated at 07:53 GMT, Monday, April 30, 2012 - 12:53 EST

Fugitive pro football owner Makis Psomiadis is expected to be extradited to Greece at 2 p.m. (12.00 GMT) on Monday, by an Interpol unit stationed in Skopje, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). He will be turned over at a northern Greece border post to an Interpol unit stationed in Athens.

Psomiadis was arrested in downtown Skopje on Nov. 9, 2011 on an Interpol warrant.

He fled to the neighboring country after posting bail following yet another arrest in a southeast Athens villa, where he also lived as a fugitive.

The justice ministry in Skopje granted a request for extradition by the corresponding ministry in Athens.

Psomiadis, who recently owned the Kavala FC team and at one-time controlled Greek powerhouse AEK Athens, is charged with forming a criminal gang; legalising revenue from criminal activities; extortion and complicity in the commission of fraud.

The owner of Kavala soccer club denies any connection to the match-fixing ring, which is alleged to have made millions of euros by betting on the outcome of soccer games which various officials and players colluded to fix.

Topflight clubs Kavala and Volos were thrown out of Greece's professional leagues last summer over the match-fixing scandal. Psomiadis describes himself as a "political prisoner."

Some information for this report was provided by AMNA, Associated Press, Kathimerini