Greek surveyor killed in Mafia-style execution

A Greek surveyor was shot in a mafia-style execution on the streets of Athens amid suspicions that he was killed as part of a feud over a Mykonos property development.

A gunman on a motorbike drew up to a BMW driven by Panagiotis Stathis and opened fire with a 9mm pistol, shooting at least a dozen times. It appeared to be a professional hit.

In a chilling audio recording obtained by Greek media, the gunman can be heard firing multiple times, then reloading a magazine and shooting more rounds into the vehicle. Police recovered about 20 bullet casings from the scene.

The gunman sped away on his motorcycle and is being hunted by police. The attack happened on Tuesday outside Mr Stathis’s company headquarters in the Athens suburb of Psychiko.

Mr Stathis, 54, was a surveyor who was involved in property development on Mykonos, Paros, Ios and other islands in the Cyclades, where there is intense competition over building permits and land. Hotels, villas and restaurants can be hugely lucrative on the islands, which attract crowds of big-spending visitors during the summer months.

Oligarchs, celebrities and yacht owners flock to Mykonos, meaning that the tiny island of turquoise bays, windmills and dazzling white, sugar-cube houses now accounts for 0.5 per cent of Greece’s GDP.

But the tourist boom has fuelled rampant illegal construction. “This place is full of mafia. They build wherever they like and they’re ruining the island,” a taxi driver told The Telegraph recently. “Mykonos has lost its soul.”

There was speculation that Mr Stathis may have crossed the wrong person in his work surveying plots of land.

In 2021, he was physically assaulted on Mykonos and made a complaint to the police. An investigation was launched, but no arrests were made.

Last year, an archaeologist who clashed with property developers over the protection of ancient sites on Mykonos was subjected to a savage beating.

Manolis Psarros was attacked by a group of assailants as he left his house in Athens in March, leaving him with broken ribs, a fractured nose and severe bruising to his face.

Mr Psarros worked for the Archaeological Service of the Cyclades Islands, trying to ensure that new properties comply with laws intended to protect ancient sites.

He believed the attack was related to two businesses in Mykonos which he found had encroached on archaeological sites.

“The assault was professional,” Despina Koutsoumba, the head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, said after the attack. “Our colleague had no other contact with people who could organise such a hit, other than his occupational involvement in cases of illegal development carried out by business interests in Mykonos.”

‘Matters in Mykonos have got out of hand’

Last year the Greek government announced that it would use artificial intelligence and aerial photographs to detect illegal developments on Mykonos.

“Obviously, matters in Mykonos have got out of hand,” Kostas Skrekas, the then environment minister, said at the time. “The aim is to systematically check all illegal construction on the island.”

In March last year Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, said: “There cannot be an island where some people consider themselves to be above the law. The situation must be dealt with firmly.”