PAOK sports club owner Ivan Savvidis was found not guilty by the Single Plenary Court of Thessaloniki, accused of instigating the use of a forgery, an act connected to the renewal procedure for the possession of a firearms and weapons licence.

In the same case, five other individuals were also referred to trial and acquitted, accused of forgery, instigating forgery (in collaboration), use of a forged document and false medical certification. According to the case file, the individuals included a secretary of a neurologist-psychiatrist, a private person (an acquaintance of the secretary), a pathologist and two policemen from the security team of the diaspora businessman, including a retired officer of the Hellenic Police.

As testified during the evidentiary procedure, Savvidis had been called in September 2020 by the police to renew the licence of the gun he carried for his personal security (this followed his entry with a gun into the Toumba stadium at the controversial match between PAOK and AEK).

The lawyers who represented the businessman in the trial said that Ivan Savvidis had given explicit instructions to follow all legal procedures, while he was not interested in renewing his gun license since he was in Russia and due to the Covid-19 pandemic he would not come to Greece.