TEI Professor Servion sentenced to 8 years: good grades for bribes

Serious Crimes Court Thessaloniki sentenced the defendants in a high-profile bribery case in the former TEI Servion.

The main accused is 67-year-old professor – sentenced to 8 years in prison and a fine 30,000 euros for systematically demanding money from students for successfully passing exams.

The court also found the spouses guilty – owners of frontistiriowhere the “purchased success” scheme was implemented. They received students who had been “failed” by the professor and, for an additional fee, provided them with topics that later “accidentally” appeared on the exams. Each of them is assigned 5 years imprisonment And fine of 20,000 euros.

The mechanism of the corruption scheme

The investigation established that the professor directed “dissatisfied” students to a specific quotient frontistirio. For payment from 200 to 300 euros per item students received a guaranteed passing grade, and the examination materials coincided with the original assignments at the university. In a number of cases, the teacher directly demanded “envelope with gratitude” to speed up the retake procedure.

All three were found guilty of multiple and professional bribeas well as in blackmailing students. The court took into account the mitigating circumstance – “exemplary behavior after investigation” – and temporarily suspended the execution of the sentence pending consideration appeals.

Student Testimonies

Dozens of students spoke during the two-month process, many of whom described the scheme in detail. Graduate Faculty of Accounting said that she paid 250 euros for each course: “In frontistirio we were given the same tasks that later appeared in the exams. We knew that everything was bought in advance.”

How the scheme was revealed

The investigation began at 2018 after students complained and contacted Northern Greece Internal Security Directorate. Then they were produced detentions and temporary arrests. Since then the case has become a symbol academic corruption in regional universities and caused a wide public discussion about quality control of education.

Bottom line

One of the accused teachers was acquitted — his participation in the scheme was not confirmed. However, the process itself has become precedent for Greece: for the first time, university corruption has been proven in a serious crimes court. The authorities promised to strengthen control over academic ties between teachers and private frontistirio.

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