Authorities are expected to accompany a 46-year-old Greek national from the United Kingdom to Athens on Thursday after her extradition in connection with the 2010 Marfin bank arson attack was greenlighted. The deadly arson claimed the lives of three employees and has remained unsolved for more than 16 years.
A team from the Greek police’s organized crime division is in London to escort the suspect back to Greece. According to local media reports, the extradition process is expected to be completed on Thursday, with her arrival in Athens later that evening. The woman is expected to appear before a magistrate on Friday to respond to the charges against her.
She has denied any involvement in the deadly attack.
According to her legal representatives, she contacted the Greek authorities after learning of new developments in the investigation and requested to return to Greece as quickly as possible in order to give testimony and present her account of the case.
Her lawyer, who also represents the two 42-year-old suspects already in pretrial detention, said the woman immediately informed authorities that she was willing to cooperate with the judicial process and travel voluntarily from the United Kingdom. Defense attorneys said she had assured her legal counsel she intended to return promptly to assist in clarifying the circumstances of the case.
The extradition follows the arrests last month of two 42-year-old suspects who were ordered held in pretrial detention after appearing before an investigating magistrate. The breakthrough came after Greek Police reopened the investigation, with evidence reportedly including re-examined witness testimony, digital photographic material and other forensic findings. Both men deny the accusations against them.
The Marfin attack occurred on May 5, 2010, when demonstrators protesting Greece’s first international bailout marched through central Athens. During the unrest, assailants firebombed a central branch of Marfin Bank, trapping employees inside the burning building. Three people were killed, including a pregnant woman, in one of the deadliest episodes of political violence during the decade-old financial crisis.
Authorities have said the investigation remains ongoing as officers seek to identify and arrest all individuals believed to have been involved in the attack. According to previous reports, investigators believe additional members of the group that carried out the assault may still be identified as the long-running probe continues.
