Michalis Dardaneliotis, head of the Mykonos-based charity Chain of Hope, will stand trial over the alleged forgery of a 92-year-old Kolonaki woman’s will, according to a judicial council ruling.
The Athens Council of Misdemeanour Judges referred four people to the Three-Member Felony Court of Appeal in Athens. Besides Michalis Dardaneliotis, the accused are a notary and two witnesses to the will, identified only by their initials.
The case concerns an estate worth more than €1 million, including an apartment in the central Athens district of Kolonaki, bank deposits and gold sovereigns. She died on 15 August 2019 and had no relatives.
According to ruling No. 3001/2026, Dardaneliotis is accused of incitement to felony false certification, incitement to forgery and use of a forged document. All four accused remain presumed innocent until a final court judgment.
Charges against Michalis Dardaneliotis
The prosecution alleges that he persuaded a still unidentified person to imitate the woman’s signature on a public will dated 4 March 2019. He is also accused of using the document by filing it with the Athens Magistrates’ Court.
Additionally, the judges wrote that he allegedly used “persuasion and insistence” to lead the notary to make a false certification. Through that will, Chain of Hope, which he legally represents, sought to inherit the estate.
In addition, the notary faces a felony charge of false certification by an official, aimed at an unlawful gain, with the alleged gain and loss exceeding €120,000. Both witnesses face charges of simple complicity.
The council met on 16 July 2026 and issued its ruling on 24 July. It kept bail of €3,000 for Dardaneliotis and €2,000 for the notary, as well as monthly reporting to police for both. Arrest warrants against the two witnesses remain in force.
Seven-year battle over the estate
The woman had left a sealed handwritten will with a notary. After her death, a break-in at her sealed apartment was reported, and mainly personal documents were allegedly taken.
Almost two years later, the public will appeared, naming Chain of Hope as heir to almost the entire estate. People close to the woman then challenged it in court.
A court-ordered handwriting examination found that someone else had signed in an attempt to imitate her writing. Subsequently, the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance ruled the will forged on 15 January 2024, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.
Dardaneliotis founded the charity to support people with cancer, linking it to his wife Chara’s battle with the disease. The Anti-Money Laundering Authority also examined how the group managed funds and inheritances.
Michalis Dardaneliotis has also been linked to the case of the estate of his half-brother, the late actor Nikos Sergianopoulos. No trial date has been made public.
Source: Proto Thema
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