‘Mykonos Mafia’: How Mitsotakis’ government failed to fight corruption

A striking article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, entitled “The Mafia of Mykonos”, details how the Mitsotakis government is managing to tackle the organised crime plaguing the island, particularly in the construction and land use sectors on the hugely popular holiday island of the Cyclades.

The article, captioned by Michael Martens, accuses the Greek government of failing to tackle corruption on the iconic island, which The Guardian has dubbed “Europe’s most popular party island”.

The Mykonos mafia: how the government of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is failing to tackle corruption on what is “Europe’s most famous party island”, as the Guardian once called it. photo.twitter.com/5mmEmqIVHA

— Michael Martens (@Andric1961) August 23, 2024

Similarly, an investigative series that began in 2023 in.gr and focused on the “construction mafia” on Mykonos presented documents revealing serious building violations on the jet-set island.

Anyone who gets involved with the ‘construction mafia’ is in danger

“Outside the high season, when tourists queue like sardines to visit sights that no longer exist because of them (the construction mafia), Mykonos is a magical place. But behind the facades of Instagram, a construction mafia is active that spreads across the island and does not care about victims. And woe to the flood for those who stand in its way,” the article in the German newspaper emphasizes, referring to two cases that have recently attracted particular attention.

The first concerns archaeologist Manolis Psarros, whose case, FAZ emphasizes that it revolves around a constant theme: during construction works, stones, artifacts, fragments and other historical relics are discovered. In some regions of Greece this happens at almost every foundation ceremony. “It is not only the companies involved for almost two decades in the construction of Thessaloniki’s still unfinished metro that could sing its praises,” the article characteristically notes.

Last year, Psarros was nearly beaten to death in northern Athens by two attackers who then fled. He confronted the ‘construction mafia of Mykonos’ and reported illegal construction. An official like Psarros, who can block investments through the courts or at the very least cause costly delays, obviously stands in the way for some. His case shocked the country and called into question the Mitsotakis government’s promise to maintain law and order.

Special investigators were sent to the island,and what emerged was a network of corrupt contractors, club owners, hoteliers, motel owners, local politicians and police officers, all “with excellent connections to corrupt associates in the centers of power in Athens.”

A few weeks ago, a crime even shed more light on the archaeologist’s case. Surveyor Panagiotis Stathis, who had worked on Mykonos for decades, was shot dead in the Psychiko district of Athens by an assailant who also fled.

Up to 30K per square meter

“The background behind the alleged contract killing is not fully known, but one thing is clear: there is a lot of money circulating on Mykonos. Dozens of five-star hotels on an island with fewer inhabitants than Husum bear witness to the summer rush of wealthy clients from all over the world, who come to the island on direct flights from Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Doha, among others. Although there are hundreds of hotels on the island, new properties are constantly being added, FAZ reports.

The article notes that this year news broke that Soutrock Property Co., a subsidiary of Germany’s Otto Group, invested 200 million euros in Mykonos. The investment reportedly includes a new luxury complex spanning nearly 200,000 square meters. Moreover, prices for second homes are higher nowhere in Greece than in the Cyclades, FAZ points out. OOn Mykonos, such ‘noble’ properties can sometimes fetch as much as €7,000 per square metre, while some top locations on the island have even reported prices of over €30,000 per square metre.

Mitsotakis’ empty promises

A common side effect of such transactions is that they occur at the margins of, or even outside, legal limits.

“We will legalize Mykonos. “We are committed to eradicating the criminal networks that believe they hold the fate of this beautiful island in their hands,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed in his weekly message last July – pledges that once again turned out to be “empty words” from his government.

The loophole

The FAZ investigation report explains how the “Mykonos mafia” “a law that states that all buildings illegally constructed in Greece before July 2011 can be retroactively ‘legalized’ by paying fines, which are not very high. And the construction dates of many buildings built on Mykonos long after 2011 are systematically falsified to abuse this law. This can be easily proven by the images taken by the Greek Air Force or by Google Maps – if someone wants to prove it of course.”

For buildings built before 1982, the fines are considerably lower.

In Mykonos, buildings built long after 2011 were therefore ‘systematically’ mentioned earlier in the archives. The squares where buildings were to be built before 2011 have not been used for years, FAZ explains. However, the uncontrolled real estate development also has consequences for tourists: the island’s infrastructure cannot always keep up with this ‘turbo development’. For example, the sewage system on Mykonos has been overloaded several times during the high season. At times, streams of raw sewage flowed through the manhole covers, providing ‘jet-setters with an unforgettable holiday experience…’

At the same time, Panormos remains an occupied beach

One of the areas on Mykonos that was much talked about last year was Panormos. At this location on the coast, large-scale illegal construction was discovered around the Principote club. The case had emerged as a typical example of the problem in Mykonos, while the government, in the person of the Prime Minister himself, used it as an example of the government’s determination to uphold legality. And indeed, after all the commotion, the company that owns the club demolished the illegal structures on the beach – and this year the club is operational again.

However, this did not mean that the beach became free and accessible again. In fact, the company still not only occupies a large part of the beach, but also controls access to the rest of the supposedly free beach, as the only way to get there is through the company premises.

The almost completely ‘occupied’ beach of Panormos this year.

However, if you want to walk through the club, you will encounter security guards who will not let you through. In addition, the noise pollution caused by loud music makes the situation unbearable for the people living nearby. This means that government promises to address urban planning violations on Mykonos have largely remained empty words.