Deputy Police Chief Michalis Katsounotos appeared before a disciplinary tribunal on Thursday facing charges of misconduct and breach of duty related to communications with a prison inmate in 2022.
Katsounotos, accompanied by lawyer Modestos Poyiadjis, attended the initial hearing after receiving a summons mid-month, according to informed sources. The disciplinary charges include inappropriate conduct and neglect of duty.
The case centres on events from 2022 when Katsounotos, then head of the Drug Law Enforcement Unit (YKAN), allegedly communicated with a Central Prison inmate requesting information about the facility’s director, Anna Aristotelous.
Aristotelous accused Katsounotos of colluding with an inmate to obtain potentially damaging video footage of her and her deputy through communications via messaging platform Telegram. In messages cited by local media, Katsounotos allegedly wrote: “It’s rumoured that Anna will soon move on to another job. Send me them [videos] as soon as possible because I want to do some things before the girls leave the prison.”
Aristotelous filed a complaint with Attorney General Giorgos Savvides on 20 June 2022, leading to the appointment of criminal investigator Achilleas Aimilianidis. The investigation concluded on 15 September 2022.
The Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General concluded that whilst Katsounotos had not committed corruption, the investigator believed he may have committed abuse of power under Article 105 of the Criminal Code and conspiracy under Article 373. Both offences carry maximum penalties of two years imprisonment and/or €2,562 fines.
However, prosecutors determined that public interest would not be served by pursuing criminal charges. The legal service said Katsounotos was “trying to obtain information as part of his job and tried to uncover potential offences carried out by members of the prison service.”
“Neither [investigator] Mr Aimilianidis nor the legal service that studied the evidence, found there was evidence of corruption against Mr Katsounotos, in the sense that he may have tried to gain something out of the situation,” the Attorney General’s office stated.
The decision prompted Aristotelous and her deputy Athena Demetriou to quit their prison posts in December 2022, saying they had been “left with no choice” following the decision not to prosecute.
Assistant Police Chief Giannakis Georgiou conducted the disciplinary investigation that led to Thursday’s charges. At the hearing, Katsounotos’s lawyer requested time to study the charges and related evidence.
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis told OMEGA television that developments regarding potential criminal charges against Katsounotos were expected within days, though he could not provide specific dates.
The disciplinary proceedings coincide with a separate investigation involving Aristotelous, who was placed on administrative leave Wednesday following a Cabinet decision. Aristotelous and Demetriou were questioned on 16 June about classified documents found at a senior prison guard’s residence during an unrelated corruption investigation involving some 300,000 pages of material including architectural schematics and inmate dossiers.
Katsounotos was appointed as one of three assistant police chiefs in February 2025, despite previous controversies including refusing to cooperate with anti-corruption investigators.
Retired police commander Savvas Christou revealed he had testified in the investigation, stating that personal letters he had sent to the police chief and justice minister were among documents found at the guard’s home.
Aristotelous has denied wrongdoing, claiming investigators sought to pressure her. She told media that whilst 300,000 documents were reportedly found, investigators questioned her about far fewer.
Deputy Government Spokesman Υiannis Antoniou said the Cabinet based its decision on facts rather than media reports, emphasising that no one is above the law whilst respecting Aristotelous’s right to defend herself.
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