Newly released video footage and photographs from the deadly 2010 Marfin bank arson attack in Athens have shed fresh light on one of Greece’s most notorious unsolved crimes, with investigators saying the material helped identify suspects 16 years after the attack.
The 120-page forensic report details how authorities combined facial analysis with comparisons of personal belongings visible in photographs from before and during the attack. The analysis examined features including the eyes, ears and forehead, but investigators said objects carried by the suspects proved crucial in linking unidentified figures in the images to specific individuals.
The material was confiscated during a 2020 search of the residence of a self-styled anarchist linked to a fugitive bank robber. The material, depicting the suspects during a seaside holiday in 2009, was not analyzed until 2024.
New footage captures the moment of the attack
The video shows the firebombing beginning on May 5, 2010, shortly after 2 p.m. Inside the Marfin bank branch, an employee is seen moving behind a counter before rushing into another room as the glass façade is smashed and a Molotov cocktail is thrown inside.
Within seconds, thick black smoke fills the ground floor, leaving the area completely obscured in less than 15 seconds.
The attack killed three bank employees, including a pregnant woman, and became one of the most traumatic episodes of Greece’s financial crisis-era unrest.
Photographs provide key leads
Police said newly examined photographs captured the moments before the firebomb was thrown. One image shows a man wearing a black shirt, cap and face covering breaking the bank’s front window with a hammer. Authorities believe he is one of two 42-year-old suspects currently in custody.
The investigation also relied on photographs taken by an amateur photographer who was standing across from the building during the attack. Using image enhancement technology, investigators compared facial features after removing coverings such as caps and masks.
However, according to the forensic report, the strongest evidence came from distinctive personal items appearing in both older photographs and images from the attack.
Backpacks become central evidence
Investigators said backpacks, shoes, glasses and hats displayed “unique acquired characteristics” that helped establish links between suspects and individuals captured during the assault.
Particular attention was given to two backpacks seen in holiday photographs from Ikaria and Samothrace in 2009. According to the report, the two men used the bags interchangeably, and the same items appeared in images from the day of the attack.
One backpack was identified as black with a red Dead Kennedys logo, while the second had a distinctive orange mark on the zipper cover — a feature investigators considered unique.
The forensic report states that the two male suspects were linked to the attack mainly through these objects rather than through complete biometric identification. The suspects were assessed as showing similarities with individuals in the attack photographs, but not reaching the level of full facial identification.
For one suspect, described in the report as the “Aerial Worker,” facial analysis was extremely limited because his face was almost entirely covered by a red neck covering.
Investigation into 46-year-old woman continues
Authorities also used similar methods to examine the case of a 46-year-old woman with a “blonde braid,” who is expected to be extradited to Greece from the United Kingdom.
The report states that she appears alongside the “Tall Man” and another unidentified person who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail into the bank. Comparisons with photographs from social media showed similarities in body type, but did not result in definitive biometric identification.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue examining the evidence surrounding the attack and the alleged involvement of those arrested.
