Μake us preferred on Google On October 6, the Dutch Supreme Court, known as the Hoge Raad, sentenced prominent Greek shipowner Yiannis Karageorgis to 29 months in prison. He had been accused of financial fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy involving the Dutch dairy company Lyempf, from which funds were transferred in 2010, when the company was already on the brink of bankruptcy.
By upholding the conviction of Karageorgis, a shipowner and former owner of regional television channels, the court brought a 15-year legal saga to an end.
The Greek shipowner had appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court, seeking to have the Court of Appeal’s ruling overturned. That ruling had sentenced him to 30 months in prison.
The Dutch judges, however, rejected the argument that the transfer had been an “investment.” They ruled that Karageorgis, as the sole director with decision-making powers, knew that the transfer would harm creditors. His only “victory” was symbolic: because the proceedings had taken an excessively long time, his sentence was reduced from 30 to 29 months in prison.
The ruling is now final, and the sentence is enforceable. The convicted shipowner, however, lives in Greece, raising the question of what will happen next. Can the Netherlands bring him there to serve his sentence? Will he serve his sentence in Greece? Or will he remain free, but only within Greek borders?
The Timeline of the Case
In July 2024, Yiannis Karageorgis was sentenced by a Dutch Court of Appeal to 30 months in prison for fraud.
The case concerned his investment in the historic Dutch dairy company Lyempf.
According to the Court of Appeal’s ruling, the shipowner purchased the Dutch business in 2010, assuring its stakeholders that he would strengthen its liquidity. Despite these commitments, however, the dairy company declared bankruptcy a year later.
Investigations by the Dutch prosecuting authorities revealed that the Greek shipowner had not only failed to inject money into the dairy company but had instead “drained” its coffers.
The Dutch prosecuting authorities charged Yiannis Karageorgis with fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy.
It should be noted that, in connection with this case, he was arrested in Greece in 2016 under a European Arrest Warrant, which was not ultimately executed.
In 2019, Karageorgis was convicted at first instance by a Dutch court and sentenced to two years in prison for fraud involving €12.4 million.
The Greek shipowner subsequently appealed. In July 2024, the Dutch Court of Appeal issued a harsher ruling, increasing his prison sentence from 24 to 30 months, while the prosecutor had requested a four-year prison term.
Yiannis Karageorgis’s next move was to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision to the Dutch Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s Ruling
The Dutch Supreme Court issued its ruling on October 6, 2026, reducing the Greek shipowner’s prison sentence by just one month, from 30 to 29 months, while rejecting his arguments against the Court of Appeal’s decision.
The ruling states:
“The Supreme Court:
– quashes the Court of Appeal’s decision, but exclusively with regard to the length of the prison sentence imposed;
– reduces the sentence, setting its duration at 29 months;
– dismisses the appeal in all other respects.
This decision was issued by Vice President M.J. Borgers, presiding, and Justices A.L.J. van Strien and F. Posthumus, in the presence of Deputy Registrar S.P. Bakker, and was announced at a public hearing on October 6, 2026.”
The Greek Supreme Court’s “No”
As mentioned above, the case is not new to the Greek judicial system. Several years ago, Dutch authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant seeking Karageorgis’s extradition to the Netherlands to stand trial for fraud, forgery, and fraudulent bankruptcy. Karageorgis was arrested in Glyfada, and the Council of Appeals Court Judges approved his surrender only in connection with the fraud charge.
Greece’s Supreme Court, however, overturned the entire decision. It ruled that the offense was not fraud but fraudulent bankruptcy, which constitutes a misdemeanor under Greek law. As a misdemeanor, the offense had already become time-barred in Greece. Greek law governing European Arrest Warrants allows a person’s surrender to be refused when the offense is time-barred in Greece and Greek courts have jurisdiction, as is the case with a Greek citizen. The shipowner was released, and the restrictive measures imposed on him were lifted.
The circumstances have since changed, however. The conviction has become final, and a new warrant from the Netherlands for him to serve his sentence could potentially be treated differently and lead to a different outcome. The case is legally complex, involving interpretations of the law that will determine what ultimately happens and whether Yiannis Karageorgis will be imprisoned.
