No, Greek PM's wife didn't buy a multi-million-euro flat with public funds

The Greek government has slammed allegations that Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, wife of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, used taxpayers' money to buy a multi-million-euro flat in an urban development south of Athens.

A website called VoiceNews posted an article on 15 August claiming that Grabowski purchased the flat in a skyscraper in the Ellinikon metropolitan park in Athens, a luxury urban development currently under construction that is expected to house hotels, casinos and Greece's tallest buildings, at a time when "people are drowning in debt".

The allegations were picked up by fringe media outlets, which also published their own articles, such as Karditsa sta akra.

This website said that the flat supposedly costs €2-3 million and accused both Grabowski and Mitsotakis of being out-of-touch elites living in luxury while Greece descends into debt.

The publication of the claims prompted Grabowski to take both websites to court. In official legal notices, she said that she categorically denies the claims, labelling them as fake news that damages her credibility.

She also said that the allegations had spread through Greece and beyond.

"After the above false claim [about the flat] was made, a personal attack against me followed, part of which was reproduced in its entirety by your publication," Grabowski said in the subpoena sent to Karditsa. "I was accused of living 'in a parallel universe of wealth and privilege' and that my attitude is 'a slap in the face of the dignity of every Greek'."

"In order to restore the truth, which you know very well, it is emphasised that I never purchased an apartment in the Lamda Development skyscraper under construction in the Ellinikon, as is also evident from the official records of the Greek Land Registry," Grabowski continued.

"I emphasise again that no purchase took place, much less with the use of resources of Greek citizens," the document said.

The subpoenas called on the websites to retract and apologise for the claims, which VoiceNews has done. It released a statement admitting that what it said was wrong and not based on any evidence, and has taken down the original article.

"We are very sorry and, after more complete and correct information, we withdraw these untrue and misguided allegations, while also apologising to Ms Grabowski for publishing the untrue incidents against her and for making offensive judgments," the statement read.

The Karditsa article, however, is still online, and the website appears to have doubled down: it's released a statement acknowledging the subpoena and accuses her and her husband of setting up "the largest criminal organisation Greece has ever known".

The prime minister's director of digital communication, Nikos Romanos, has since made a statement again dismissing the allegations as fake news, noting that there has recently been a significant uptick in disinformation in Greece.

He said that taking legal action against those who spread false claims is often the most appropriate response.

"This is, unfortunately, the only way to effectively respond to fake news, created and reproduced by mechanisms, accounts and 'ghost' sites," he said, adding that Mitsotakis and Grabowski are the target of personal, defamatory attacks on an almost daily basis.

"They would be simply ridiculous if they were not dangerous," Romanos said.

Nevertheless, Greece and its government have regularly been at the centre of allegations of financial misconduct.

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index ranked it as the second most corrupt country in Eurozone in 2024.  

Mitsotakis' government has consistently faced allegations of bribery, such as in June, when five Greek government officials resigned over allegations of corruption over the mismanagement of EU farming subsidies. 

The government has also been accused of mishandling an investigation into a deadly 2024 train crash and failing to deliver the promised reforms.