Anonymous tip to Greek FBI leads to arrests in 2010 Marfin bank arson case

An anonymous online tip to the Greek FBI has led authorities to reopen the investigation into the fatal 2010 arson attack on the Marfin bank branch in Athens. This crucial piece of information, received by the Hellenic Police's Department for the Suppression of Violent Crime (DAOE), identified three individuals for whom arrest warrants have now been issued with the agreement of an investigating judge and a prosecutor.

According to sources, the anonymous email provided details that were deemed significant. Following an initial police inquiry, the findings were evaluated and forwarded to the judicial authorities. Investigators then cross-referenced information on the three named individuals with other case files. By comparing materials, law enforcement concluded that the three individuals, who appeared in an unrelated case file, shared the same characteristics, such as attire and distinctive features, as the perpetrators of the Marfin bank arson.

Two of the arrested individuals, both 42-year-old men, are reportedly known within the anti-authoritarian movement. Searches were conducted at their residences. An international arrest warrant has been issued for the third suspect, a 46-year-old woman who has been living in England since a year after the tragedy and is believed to have played a secondary role. The DAOE has been actively reinvestigating the case for the past year, conducting extensive inquiries both in Greece and abroad, including requesting digital evidence from foreign journalists who covered the 2010 events.

The final judgment on the evidence and the legal treatment of those implicated rests with the judiciary. The tragedy, which occurred during mass protests against Greece's first bailout, saw three Marfin employees perish due to smoke inhalation when unknown assailants threw Molotov cocktails into the bank. While bank executives were convicted of negligent homicide in 2013, the identities of the arsonists remained unconfirmed until this recent development.