The Athens Three-Member Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of Michalis Dardaneliotis’ non-profit organization, upholding the decision of the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance, which had ruled the will of 92-year-old R.T. as fraudulent. This ruling paves the way for the rightful heirs of the elderly woman to pursue criminal charges against those involved, seeking justice.

The case began three years ago when R.T.’s heirs filed a lawsuit against the non-profit organization Chain of Hope, based in Mykonos, which allegedly published a public will, claiming a highly valuable estate. This estate included a luxurious apartment in Kolonaki, gold sovereigns, and investment bank accounts, with a total value exceeding €1 million.

The 92-year-old R.T., who passed away in August 2019, was unmarried and childless. This brought her closer to the plaintiffs, with whom she had developed a close friendship and familial bonds. As they stated in their lawsuit, the deceased had expressed her wish to bequeath her estate to them through a handwritten will, which had been validated by the Athens Magistrate’s Court and deemed authentic by a judicial handwriting expert. “R.T. was like family to us. We considered her our grandmother and called her that. She was there for us during the most important moments of our lives,” the heirs noted.

The story took a dramatic turn on August 15, 2019, when the plaintiffs, concerned about not hearing from her, visited her home in Kolonaki. There, they found that they could not unlock the door with the keys she had entrusted to them. They had to call the police, who forced entry and found the elderly woman collapsed on the floor, with no signs of life. Following her death, the apartment was sealed off as required by law, but a year later, when the seal was removed, the heirs discovered that the apartment had been broken into and looted. Notably, personal documents of R.T. were missing, raising suspicions of an organized fraud scheme.

In the summer of 2021, the case took a new turn when Chain of Hope, represented by its legal head Michalis Dardaneliotis, sent a formal notice to the plaintiffs, claiming to hold a legitimate will of the deceased. This will, which surfaced nearly two years after the woman’s death, allegedly named the organization as the sole heir of her estate. The will, which allocated almost the entire estate to Dardaneliotis’ NGO, sparked outrage among the heirs.

During the lawsuit proceedings, the court ordered an independent handwriting analysis. The judicial handwriting expert, a senior officer of the Hellenic Police, concluded that the signatures on the will were forged. In her report, she stated, “The signatures were not written by R.T. but by another unknown individual who unsuccessfully attempted to imitate her handwriting.”

Moreover, the plaintiffs emphasized that there was no prior indication of any relationship between the 92-year-old and Michalis Dardaneliotis. He did not even attend her funeral, and no one in her circle was aware of his existence. Nonetheless, in the will allegedly drafted five months before R.T.’s death, Dardaneliotis appeared as the principal beneficiary of her estate.

On January 15, 2024, the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the heirs, rejecting the public will as fraudulent. The Appeals Court upheld this decision, clearing the path for criminal prosecutions. Simultaneously, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority is investigating Michalis Dardaneliotis for embezzling funds exceeding €800,000, raising serious questions about the management of money intended for charitable purposes.