Tragas Inheritance: Double victory for son in legal battle against Maria Karra

Giannis Tragas achieved two legal victories against Maria Karra, both in Greece and abroad, in the inheritance war that has been raging for nearly three years since the death of his father.

The Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean, where Giannis Tragas had appealed, ruled that he is entitled to full access to the records and documents of Family Line LTD. Just a few days later, the Marousi Court issued, for the third time, a temporary order prohibiting the Swiss co-executor of the will, Ivo Ottavio Francescon, from making any payments from the inheritance of Giorgos Tragas.

This involves the notorious offshore company founded by his father 12 years ago in the British Virgin Islands, where he held all 50,000 shares. Nearly all of his assets are associated with this company, which, according to the Swiss co-executor’s statement to the EFG Eurobank in Monaco, are estimated at €22 million.

The company has been the primary point of contention in the inheritance dispute, as Maria Karra, who serves as its director alongside Francescon, reportedly denied Giannis Tragas access to it on multiple occasions. The Supreme Court of this tropical paradise granted him access, without notifying the journalist’s widow or the Swiss lawyer co-executor.

Marousi, Caribbean
Last Wednesday, the Marousi Court discussed Giannis Tragas’s request to permanently remove the Swiss lawyer Ivo Ottavio Francescon as co-executor of his father’s will.

The publisher’s son accused Francescon of making payments totaling nearly €400,000 from the inheritance funds under Maria Karra’s instructions without informing the other co-executor, notary Stefanos Vasilakis, as required.

The Greek tax authority (AADE) and the Ministry of Finance supported Giannis Tragas in court to secure their claims on the late Giorgos Tragas’s estate. The court issued a third temporary order, prohibiting Francescon from making any further payments related to the inheritance. A final decision is expected in April.

The inheritance includes real estate, cash, gold bars, safe deposit boxes in financial institutions, and bank accounts, the majority of which belong to a single company—Family Line LTD.

This offshore company was established by the late publisher on May 22, 2012, in the exotic British Virgin Islands. Recently, Giannis Tragas scored another victory there. In late summer, he appealed to the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean—which governs the British Virgin Islands—seeking full access to Family Line LTD’s records, which Maria Karra had refused to provide.

When the court convened, Giannis Tragas and Greek co-executor Stefanos Vasilakis requested and secured a “Seal & Gag order” against Trident, the company managing Family Line LTD’s registry. This means the court prohibited Trident from informing or sharing any information about Giannis Tragas’s request with Maria Karra or Francescon.

The ruling mandated that Trident Trust Company disclose all details and documents (including electronically stored ones) regarding Family Line LTD to the applicants within 14 days of the order’s issuance.

Vindication for Giannis Tragas
For the first time in nearly three years, Giannis Tragas has finally gained access to the documents and activities of his late father’s company. Until his appeal to the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean, the late publisher’s widow, Maria Karra, and Ivo Ottavio Francescon, according to Caribbean records, had taken control of the company just 48 days after Giorgos Tragas passed away on December 14, 2021.

The Swiss lawyer, appointed alongside Stefanos Vasilakis as co-executor of Giorgos Tragas’s will, had also established a company named Maxam Services in the Marshall Islands, where he is the sole shareholder. Maxam Services is part of Family Line LTD.

Caribbean documents feature the signatures of Maria Karra and Francescon. In one Trident document from April 2021, essentially a form of information, Francescon listed EFG Eurobank in Monaco under the field “asset” and detailed, “estimated value of assets: €22 million.”

The attached documents, obtained after Giannis Tragas’s successful appeal in the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean (British Virgin Islands jurisdiction), reveal significant findings:

1. Giorgos Tragas was the sole shareholder of Family Line during his lifetime, meaning the company and its assets are part of the inheritance estate.
2. Maria Karra and Francescon, through Maxam Services, act as corporate directors of Family Line.
3. Maxam Services is entirely owned by Francescon.
4. Francescon himself values Family Line LTD at €22 million.

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