The New Democracy parliamentary group & the European Public Prosecutors, the rule of law (truths and exaggerations), the Bakos family, Douros & real estate, the plunge of the “Stassinopoulos stocks”
Protothema.gr·July 20, 2026
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Greece's New Democracy parliamentary group faces scrutiny regarding European Public Prosecutors' investigations into rule of law concerns, alongside allegations involving the Bakos family, real estate dealings by Douros, and significant losses in Stassinopoulos stocks. The report examines tensions between political accountability and media narratives, while highlighting various financial and legal controversies affecting prominent Greek political figures.
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Hello, we are well and truly into the hot weather, the first heatwave has visited us, and the New Democracy Parliamentary Group will meet this afternoon, as, because of the feast day of the Prophet Elijah, the MPs wanted to remain in their electoral districts yesterday due to the local festivals. Mitsotakis will obviously repeat that the elections will be held in 2027, while 20–30 MPs have already signed up to speak, which means that the modest ceremony will certainly last until 19:00. The interesting thing is that the secretary of the Parliamentary Group, Maximos Charakopoulos, has invited the MPs who were involved in the OPEKEPE case and were cleared to take the floor and speak, while some of them also have proposals—for example, Dimitris Vartzopoulos believes that the national filters for monitoring the activity of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office should be strengthened. In any case, so that we do not… go crazy, let’s say that OPEKEPE was full of mismanagement and scandals for so many years, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, through its investigations, was the body that essentially exposed them and forced the Government to even change the managing body. Regarding the involvement of political figures, it is indeed being shown that there were excesses that created suspicion.
As every summer, this year too the Commission issued its rule-of-law report for all countries. And, contrary to what is said in the domestic political dialogue, where Greece is portrayed as something between Tanzania and Zimbabwe, or as Orbán’s Hungary in a more European guise, Greece belongs to the group of 13 countries that show improvement. Countries such as Germany, Portugal, Austria and Finland belong to this category, while Belgium and Italy have more recommendations than we do—we have 4. In a worse situation is the favourite of the centre-left in Greece, Sánchez’s Spain, with 6 recommendations and a red card for an inadequate anti-corruption plan. It is obvious that, on the issue of the rule of law, the so-called “Executive State” is also doing work—a concept that has been heavily mocked—but it is doing work in bringing the country into compliance with what is provided for in the main rule-of-law reports, such as those of the Commission, the OECD and The Economist. The main work on the issue is being carried out by Skertsos, Marinakis, Floridis, as well as Stelios Koutnatzis at the Maximos Mansion. Especially regarding the media portfolio, it is no small thing that the Commission positively assessed the regulations introduced for newspapers, websites, ERT and the law concerning regional television channels.
Funding instruments are always crucial, and on Tuesday there will be an interesting presentation on the National Development Programme, for the second programming period from 2026 to 2030. The money on the table is not insignificant, namely €23 billion, which will be managed by the central state as well as local government bodies, especially the regions. The programme belongs to Nikos Pappathanasis’s portfolio, while a more technical presentation will be given by the Secretary General of the Public Investment Programme and the NDP, Katerina Oikonomou. At the event, which will take place at the Athens Conservatoire, Pierre and Mitsotakis will also speak.
Full story reconstructed from Protothema.gr. Formatting and media may differ from the original.
Let me move on to the lighter government-related matters, as the weekend that passed was packed with weddings and baptisms. Apart from the baptism of Konstantinos Kyranakis’s young son, Vasilis, which took place in Portaria in a very close circle, a member of the Maximos Mansion’s communications team, Freddy Tragas, got married. Low-key and away from publicity, Freddy Tragas married his beloved Katerina Tasioula, who is an officer in the Hellenic Air Force, in Anavyssos, without many frills, but with the presence of some government officials as well. May they have a life full of flowers! (A traditional Greek wedding wish meaning “may your marriage be happy and blessed.”)
SYRIZA may have said some heroic things over the weekend and, after managing to elect Dourou as president of the Parliamentary Group so that she could attend the Presidency’s reception on Friday, but the shop is falling apart. Kedikoglou’s and Kokkalis’s resignations from their parliamentary seats will also be formally submitted, while more independences by a few others who are about to leave will follow. Basically, the last person expected to close the door is former president Famelos, who was hit from all sides by Dourou, Polakis and Pappas and has made his decisions.
The column is particularly pleased when things are done with organisation and seriousness. The scenarios and whispers about an extraordinary tax on banks have stopped, the sword of Damocles hanging over the market has been removed, and in a climate of calm and mutual understanding the banks began making useful donations. The most recent was the €160 million they donated for the renovation and upgrading of the building facilities at EKPA, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the National Technical University of Athens. If we add to the account the money that banks have given for school renovations, a large total emerges, one that far exceeds the amount that any possible extraordinary taxation would have brought in. I think that now the baton has passed to the servicers, who were also mentioned by the Minister of Finance a few days ago at the Hellenic Bank Association’s general assembly, saying that they owe sustainable arrangements and transparency because they do not merely manage portfolios but lives.
Those who believe that August will pass at a… holiday pace for the energy sector will probably be proven wrong. Everything indicates that the last month of summer will mark the beginning of a new period of intense business developments, which are expected to peak in the autumn. The beginning will come in the first week of August, when PPC and METLEN announce their first-half financial results on the 5th and 6th of the month. The interest, however, is not limited to the numbers. Analysts are eagerly awaiting the conference calls that will follow, where PPC’s Chairman and CEO, George Stassis, and METLEN’s Executive Chairman, Evangelos Mytilineos, will be called upon to reveal their cards regarding the next steps of the two groups. In a market that in recent months has been dominated by large capital increases, multi-million-euro business agreements and reshuffling in energy infrastructure, it is unlikely that the two executives will limit themselves to presenting financial performance. Analysts will reasonably be looking for indications about the next chapter, with data centres at the centre of expectations. Information suggests that September will be a month of significant announcements. However, market participants do not rule out that some moves may be announced in advance or even set in motion earlier, giving from August a first picture of the agreements maturing behind the scenes. At the same time, attention is also turning toward the defence industry. The market has circled 23 July on the calendar, considering it a possible date for developments on the defence front. Interest is focused on the meeting of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA), which has been pending since the beginning of July and is called upon to approve the “Shield of Achilles” programme, with a total budget of approximately €3 billion, although it is not yet certain whether it will take place then or be postponed again. If the institutionalisation of the mandatory participation of the domestic defence industry by 25% in defence procurement programmes is finalised, projects worth up to €750 million could emerge for Greek companies in the sector, a development that METLEN is following with particular interest. In short, August will be anything but quiet. On the contrary, everything indicates that it will be the harbinger of a particularly “hot” business autumn, with energy, infrastructure, data centres and defence attracting the greatest interest from the market.
ElvalHalcor is in a phase of intense technical adjustment—to put it elegantly—as it comes from a five-day losing streak with cumulative losses exceeding 13%. The share, which began last week at €4.90, eventually fell to €4.26, as expectations regarding the offering price of the shares in the capital increase were not confirmed. The decline is directly linked to the completion of the €250 million capital increase, through the issuance of 59.52 million new shares (a 15.9% increase in the existing number of shares), with ELVALHALCOR essentially closing the “gap” from the capital increase subscription price, which was set at €4.20. The fresh capital from the increase strengthens the group’s balance sheet and provides the necessary resources for launching the new ambitious investment cycle of more than €850 million for the 2026–2030 period. The entry of the new shares for trading on 22 July will determine the short-term balance of the share on the market board. It should be noted, however, that in general the shares of the Stassinopoulos group are under pressure following the gains they have recorded. Cenergy, after the placement at €24.20, has been heading downhill and in the latest session closed below €20 (€19.82), a decline that is making many in the market wonder into whose hands the shares were placed. The same situation applies to VIOHALCO, which from the highs of €22.25 is now struggling to maintain itself above €17 (€17.12 at Friday’s close). Obviously, the broader climate due to oil, war, etc., is burdened, but in the case of the Stassinopoulos group, the group’s shares are “taking a beating” with an intensity that exceeds the circumstances.
In Investment Banking, what matters is not who gets talked about, but who actually does the deals. Citi has held leading positions in Dealogic’s league tables in Greece since 2023, and it is characteristic that last year it ranked first with an 11.2% market share. The American bank’s Investment Banking division was behind some of the most important deals of recent years that led Greek companies toward international capital markets. Specifically, from PPC’s recent capital increase and Metlen’s listing on the London Stock Exchange, to Titan America’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
At Georgiou Square in Patras, the name Douros meant men’s fashion with an export identity for decades. For Athinon Avenue, for the past three years it has meant a share under trading suspension, since April 2023, when the company failed to publish its 2022 financial statements. Today, Douros is preparing to achieve something extremely rare: a return to the trading board after three years of suspension. With the help of the new main shareholders, Nikos Bakos (son of Dimitris, Chairman and CEO of Volton) and Alexandra Kaymenaki (daughter of Giannis)—that is, the second generation of both families of the well-known shipping duo—they invested €2.1 million through a bond loan that was converted into shares, and now control 64%, with Theodoros Douros below 10%. With the Bakos–Kaymenaki funds, the company “cleared” its bank liabilities. Through the sale of the old factory, Douros will also “wipe out” its debts to the state. The June General Assembly elected a new seven-member Board of Directors, in which only Theodoros Douros (Chairman and CEO) and Christos Sofis participate from the “old” Douros. The next major step is a €3 million share capital increase (again by the new Bakos–Kaymenaki generation) and entering the field of property management and development—not in Patras, but in areas with broader investment interest. The fashion business (Dur) remains active but is now acquiring lesser importance. The business plan for the major turnaround is being prepared by Pantelakis Securities, with Thanasis Drogosis, and its first goal is a return to the trading board no later than mid-October. The management of the Stock Exchange has granted an extension until 31 December 2026 to four shares “under trading suspension”—Douros, Yalco, Bitros and Bioter—in order to complete the necessary actions and submit a request for relisting. Anyone who does not make it in time will be led to permanent exit. For Douros, the target is October. With only 3.96 million shares outstanding, any return will take place with a microscopic free float and considerable market curiosity.
And since the Bakos family has come up, I should add that it has proceeded with the establishment of two new companies. Specifically, last Friday, 17 July, the companies “Silver K 1” and “Silver K 2” began their journey. They are based in Piraeus and their purpose is the leasing and management of privately owned or rented properties, the management of real estate assets for a fee or under contract, and the construction of residential and non-residential buildings. In short, these are two more vehicles through which the investment-active family is betting on real estate. As for the initial share capital, “Silver K 1” has €60,000 and “Silver K 2” has €120,000, divided into registered shares with a nominal value of €10 each, paid in cash upon incorporation. The funds were provided by the company “Silver Oak Properties” (of the family’s own interests), which is represented by Nikolaos Bakos. The two new companies have a three-member Board of Directors, consisting of Nikolaos Bakos as Chairman and CEO and Evangelos Milas and Petros Chrysovergis as members.
Last Thursday, Citi, with a concise 132-word report on Jumbo’s first-half sales, concluded with the phrase: “We estimate that the sequential improvement in sales compared with the previous quarter, combined with the somewhat more optimistic tone from management, despite the fact that it maintained unchanged its forecasts, may be viewed positively by the market.” The investment bank had previously been strongly critical of Vakasakis’s management. It appears, however, that something is changing on the trading board for Jumbo, which after some time reached €23.50, possibly because the selling pressure from Capital appears to be coming to an end.
The European Commission proposed slowing the pace of reduction of available emission allowances under the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Specifically, it proposes reducing the Linear Reduction Factor to 3.1% for the period 2031–2035 and to 1.7% from 2036 onwards, compared with the 4.3% currently in force. At the same time, it proposes reducing the rate at which allowances are absorbed by the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to 12% after 2030, from 24% today, thereby limiting the rate at which allowances are withdrawn from the market. The proposal also provides that companies covered by the ETS will be able to meet up to 2% of their required emission reductions through international carbon offset credits. In addition, 250 million tonnes of domestic carbon removals will be incorporated into the system, increasing the supply of available compliance units. Finally, it proposes the advance allocation of 80% of free emission allowances to industry, while the remaining 20% will be granted only if companies certify decarbonisation investments. Analysts note that for European industry the proposal is clearly positive. Essentially, the European Commission is attempting to maintain decarbonisation targets, but at a gentler pace and with lower compliance costs for businesses, strengthening the competitiveness of European industry against the US and Asia. Markets, if the proposal moves forward, will probably consider it positive for energy-intensive industrial groups and negative for the prices of CO₂ emission allowances (EUAs).
Mykonos never needed excuses to provoke. The major British company that produces and sells luxury women’s lingerie, Agent Provocateur, decided to make a statement with its first store in Greece, in Matogianni, Mykonos. The French name of the “provocative agent” suggests French elegance, but the story is purely British and hides intense business intrigue. The company was founded in London in 1994 by Joseph Corré, son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, together with partner Serena Rees. In 2017, it wrote one of the most instructive chapters in British retail. A private equity fund, 3i, owner of Agent Provocateur, put it up for sale because it feared the difficult conditions in the British market. However, it made a major accounting mistake that “cut” the valuation by £39 million. The company passed into the control of the Mike Ashley group for £27.5 million. Nothing like the £100 million that 3i had invested. Today, the Agent Provocateur brand belongs to the sphere of the London-listed Frasers Group (Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Flannels), with turnover of $6.6 billion on a twelve-month basis. Agent Provocateur itself operates around 30 stores in 12 countries, with revenues exceeding £33 million. The choice of the island of winds is part of the strategy of presence in top luxury destinations. Every square metre in Matogianni costs as much as the provocation itself: dearly.
On Thursday, 30 July, Optima Bank’s management will announce its first-half figures and the market is pricing in a new record. The bar was set high from the first quarter, with net profits of €47.5 million, up 22% year-on-year, a historic quarterly high, with disbursements of €1 billion (+27%), deposits increasing by €1.6 billion, RoTE at 25% and a loans-to-deposits ratio of 85%. Net fee income increased 56% to €19 million and the cost-to-core-income ratio stood at just 23.2%, with 30 branches and approximately 641 employees. In the second quarter, the bank’s management followed a more aggressive interest-rate policy on term deposits (tiered rates of up to 2%–2.1% from a three-month duration and for new money) in order to fuel credit expansion. It also entered the markets with a €200 million AT1 bond, which serves as a “Tier 1 dowry” ahead of the acquisition of Euroxx, expected to be completed in the autumn. Eurobank Equities sees the share price at €11.60.
Despite the slight decline in turnover to €264 million, from €266.9 million in 2024, Halyvourgia Ellados of the Manesis family appears to be standing on much firmer foundations compared with the past. The annual financial statements approved by the general assembly and registered with GEMI show a 26.7% increase in gross profits for 2025, to €53.4 million, net profits of €11.9 million (from €10.6 million), while equity strengthened dramatically to €125.5 million, from €85.1 million a year earlier. Most importantly, however, is the substantial strengthening of the balance sheet, as after the refinancing of bond loans and capital contributions, net debt was reduced to €72.4 million, while cash reserves almost doubled, reaching €24.9 million. This picture clearly creates better conditions for 2026. Management estimates that strong domestic construction activity, continuation of the investment program and new investments in industrial gases and renewable energy will support growth in the coming years.
The overall message from the management of Piraeus Bank regarding second-quarter trends appears particularly positive, as operating performance remains strong and is moving within the targets of the business plan, while in some areas even exceeding full-year targets is expected. For the second quarter, certain extraordinary non-recurring items have been identified that may affect final profitability; however, management characterised them as limited in significance, estimating that they do not alter the overall picture. On the credit expansion front, the second quarter developed according to expectations, following the particularly strong first quarter, confirming that the bank remains on track to achieve its targets. Deposits recorded a noticeable recovery compared with the previous quarter. Portfolio quality remains strong, with the non-performing exposure (NPE) ratio remaining essentially unchanged. Net interest income (NII) continues to strengthen, supported by favourable factors. Piraeus Bank’s results will be announced on 29 July.
Many shareholders are going to the cash register this week, as 12 listed companies will cut their dividend entitlement and distribute a total of €575 million in dividends and cash distributions. The standouts are PPC (€0.60 dividend cut-off on 20 July, €358 million) and Jumbo (€0.70 cut-off on 22 July, €94 million).
OTE returned to positive territory after a two-day correction. The share closed at €19.80, coming within striking distance of the year’s high of €19.88, while during the session it even touched €19.95. The major €20 target is now within reach. This is a milestone that the market has not seen since mid-May 2008. Buying interest was reignited after the significant upgrade from Piraeus Securities, which raised its target price to €21.20 from €17.20 previously, while maintaining an “outperform” recommendation. This move reflects high expectations for the second-quarter 2026 results, which will be announced on 29 July. The brokerage expects an exceptionally strong first half for the group. Specifically, it forecasts net revenues of €1.7 billion, up 3.6%, adjusted EBITDA (AL) of €681 million, up 2.8%, net profits of €285 million, and free cash flows approaching €200 million, confirming the group’s resilient financial health.
It could have been worse. Wall Street ended the week with losses. The Dow Jones fell 0.8%, the S&P 500 declined 1%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.4%. The important event of Friday, however, is hidden in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The SOX officially entered a technical “bear market” after closing 20.2% below its all-time high of 22 June, having recorded its worst week (−10%) since April 2025 and a decline of 18% during July. These figures require more careful reading. The same index remains profitable (+60% this year, compared with +9% for the S&P 500), after a 105% rally from the March lows to the June peak. Stocks such as Marvell, ARM and Intel have lost more than 30% from their highs. In the same climate, Netflix shares fell 7% when management’s third-quarter forecasts disappointed, while the launch of the Chinese Kimi K3 added doubts about the valuations of American Artificial Intelligence companies. The Dow was rescued by insurers, Travelers (+9% after its results), and the rotation of capital toward the financial sector, industry and energy, with oil above $80 due to renewed tensions in the Middle East. The question posed by strategic analysts, such as Joe Mazzola of Charles Schwab, is whether the increased spending on Artificial Intelligence reflects stronger demand or simply higher costs. The verdict, however, will not take long, as Alphabet announces results tomorrow, Tuesday, followed by Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. The hyperscalers buying the chips will show whether the $670 billion in this year’s investments have customers—or merely hopes. In the markets, corrections in the champions do not answer the question “whether they are worth it,” but rather “how hastily we paid for them.”
Chinese company Moonshot AI presented Kimi K3 on Friday, the largest “open-weight” artificial intelligence model released to date. With 2.8 trillion parameters and a context window of 1 million tokens, while the full model weights will be published on 27 July. The timing of the announcement was carefully chosen, just before the Shanghai World AI Conference, where Xi Jinping appeared in person for the first time, stating that Artificial Intelligence should not be a solo performance by one country. AI industry analysts have plunged into the announced figures. K3 falls short of the leading American systems (Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5, OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol) in the overall rankings, but surpasses their second tier (Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5) in programming and agent evaluations. With pricing of $15 for every 1 million output tokens compared with $50 for Fable, the cost-performance equation becomes a real weapon. Bank of America noted that, despite restrictions on advanced chips, Moonshot is making progress by improving training methods rather than hardware. The market reaction to the Kimi K3 announcements was extremely interesting. The biggest victims were not American, but Chinese. Shares of Z.ai and Zhipu plunged 28% to 30% in Hong Kong, MiniMax lost 16%, while the Asian semiconductor index fell 6%. Nasdaq futures dropped 2%. K3 shook China’s own AI industry, and this is an indication that the price and performance war in Beijing has now become ruthless. At the same time, Moonshot is reportedly raising new capital at a valuation of $31.5 billion, up from $20 billion only in May. Cursor, DoorDash and American laboratories are already using previous versions of Kimi in their products. The open model is not knocking on the door of the West—it is already inside. In artificial intelligence, as in geopolitics, the most effective penetration is not achieved through attack; it is achieved through free distribution. When the product is free and open, the question is not who will buy it, but whose business model will not be able to withstand it.
