Fire in Hydra: Temporary detention of the captain and lieutenant of “Persephone” – Oligarchs depart Greece without a deposition

The captain and mate of the yacht, who were arrested by a team of the Fire Service along with 11 other crew members as the culprits of the fire in a forest area in the Bisti area of Hydra Island in the evening hours of Friday, June 21, 2024, were sentenced to early morning detention, with the agreement of the investigator and the prosecutor.

The remaining 11 crew members of the yacht were released on bail, banned from leaving the country and on condition of appearing monthly at the local police station.

According to the lawyers, 7 members of the crew were given a bail amount of 10,000 euros and the other four 20,000 euros.For the case, the port authority of Hydra has collected all the data of the boats that were in the sea area patrolled by a floating boat of the Coast Guard, as witnesses from another boat in an adjacent bay allegedly reported that in the area where the fire occurred, fireworks fell from a boat.

According to the latest information, the captain reportedly claimed that no fireworks were discharged from the yacht and that on inspection by the Coast Guard all the naval flares were intact in place and he informed the Fire Department of the fire that had broken out.

The marathon apology

The apology process was marathon as it began at 8am yesterday and concluded late last night. One by one they went before the investigating magistrate and the prosecutor.

The first to apologize was the master of the yacht, who, like everyone else of course, maintains that they have no involvement in this incident and are not responsible for the fire that broke out in Hydra.

The captain maintains that no fireworks were discharged from the yacht, that in the inspection carried out by the Coast Guard all the naval flares were intact in their place, that he informed the Fire Department about the fire that had broken out while trying to help and that the program of the guests from Kazakhstan was followed, which did not include a party and that none of the accusations attributed to them are valid.

It should be noted that the charge is a felony charge of arson by potential malice, a charge that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

It is recalled that for the case, the port authority of Hydra has collected all the data of the boats that were in the sea area patrolled by the coast guard float, as the captain of a boat from an adjacent bay has reportedly complained that in the area where the fire broke out, fireworks fell from a boat. He has given a detailed statement to the fire brigade, which is expected to play a key role in the case.

Two eyewitnesses aboard a yacht that was in the adjacent “Nikliotis” bay testified that before the fire broke out on the pine-covered hillside in Hydra they heard 15 to 20 bangs, and saw flashes in the sky.

According to the evidence in the case file, the two witnesses claim to have seen the auxiliary boat, the yacht, moving between the beach and the yacht, carrying beach bags, which allegedly happened two or three times.

The captain also testified that he went out offshore of the cove because his cell phone had no signal, and notified authorities of the fire.

According to their statements, they saw a fire extinguisher on the stern of the yacht and a patch of white-colored material on the surface of the sea, with the origin of the patch unknown.

Letting the oligarchs leave without testifying, they were on the beach when the fire broke out

At the same time, about 17 passengers on the Persefoni yacht, most of them Kazakh nationals, had already left Greece on Saturday. Authorities have come to the assumption that the passengers were on the beach of Agios Nikolaos at the time the fire broke out last Friday night, raising questions about their treatment, as Coast Guard officials who were on board the boat shortly afterwards did not take statements from them. Instead, they were allowed to continue their journey to Attica – they disembarked at the Vouliagmeni Marina and then departed for their homeland by private aircraft from Eleftherios Venizelos.
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Based on existing evidence, the authorities conclude that the fire was started by actions taken from the deck of the Persefoni, most likely as part of an “entertainment event”, which included the throwing of fireworks. Among other things, this vessel was the only one that was very close to the beach of Agios Nikolaos, which is not accessible from land.

Watch the video and photos a few hours after the fire

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Authorities relied on testimony from a boat alongside, according to which when they gained visual contact with the 53-metre Persephone – and while the fire had already broken out – they saw its auxiliary boat making its way to and from the beach, carrying the Kazakhstani people to the safety of the yacht.

Search for accountability

In this context, it is surprising that the mobile phones of those on board the Persefoni were not requested from the outset – as the video recordings, had they existed, could have shed ample light on the case. In fact, relevant judicial sources say that an internal investigation will have to clear up the responsibilities of the officials who handled the case, as the relevant prosecutor was only informed at one o’clock on Saturday afternoon, 13 hours after the fire broke out.

Photos from the fire Friday night

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The oligarchs aboard the luxury yacht

Passengers on board included family members of Kazakh oligarchs, including Daniyar Abulgazin, one of the richest people in Kazakhstan.

Along with him were Abulgazin’s son and his wife, Aidan Suleimenova, who heads one of Kazakhstan’s largest charities.

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Other guests were reportedly Umut Shayakmetova chief executive officer of Kazakhstan’s largest financial institution, Halyk Bank, and her husband, Beimbet Shayakhmetov, a former top executive of the national oil company, KMG International NV, and their daughter Dinara. Also in the company was Diana Baitassova, head of a fund in Kazakhstan.

Both Abulgazin and Shayakmetova have close ties to Timur Kulibayev, a businessman and son-in-law of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Along with the Kazakhs were a couple of Poles, as well as a British man.

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The case came to “light” after the testimony of a captain who was on a boat and testified to the Port Authority of Hydra that he heard loud bangs, saw a flash and a few hours later the fire broke out on the island.

The next morning, the luxury yacht sailed to Vouliagmeni where it remained anchored for hours while officers of the Fire Department’s Arson Crimes Prevention Division collected statements from both the crew and passengers.

Then, the authorities led the vessel to the Vouliagmeni Marina and carried out a check inside the vessel, searching for the life-saving equipment and flares on the one hand and the contract that the passengers had signed with the ship owner on the other.

After the search, members of the Coast Guard led the crew members of the yacht to the Saronicos Port Authority where they were arrested and the luxury yacht was seized.

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