- The “indispensable” scientific advisor for all seasons, and under every elected administration.
- Government Gazette records from 2011, during the turbulent Psomiadis era, through the rise of Tzitzikostas and the key responsibilities assigned to the “untouchable” Befas.
- Every decision on travel expenses exceeding €80,000 over ten years, justified as monitoring the progress of the Region’s NSRF and PIP projects.
- The Teaching Work Record at the International University of Thessaloniki showing €37,000 in a single year.
- 600 decisions concerning Ap. Tzitzikostas’s “right-hand man.”
- How yet another “special advisor” from 15 years ago has come to be regarded as so… indispensable to the smooth operation of the Region of Central Macedonia.
- Media interest dating back to 2015, PAOK basketball, and the club’s arena.
- Also present at New Democracy’s internal party elections, in charge of media relations.
By Vasilis Galoupis
Every self-respecting politician has his “right-hand man,” the go-to guy for every tough job. Apostolos Tzitzikostas’s career at the Region from 2011 to 2024, a trajectory that eventually took him, two years ago, to the European Commission, relied to a significant extent on a former basketball player unknown to the wider public: Kostas Befas.
If nothing else, Tzitzikostas’s persistent reliance on the “unshakeable” Befas is striking. So are the initiatives that a mere scientific advisor came to undertake on behalf of the Region of Central Macedonia. Befas is now considered so… indispensable to the smooth running of the Region of Central Macedonia that he remains there even after the changing of the guard and Tzitzikostas’s departure for Brussels.
From the very first moment he became Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki, Apostolos Tzitzikostas decided to keep Kostas Befas by his side. The first time we come across his name is in the Government Gazette, dated August 1, 2011:
“To meet the needs of the Deputy Regional Governor of the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, Befas Konstantinos of Theodoros” is listed in the Region of Central Macedonia’s decision on the hiring of “11 special advisors under fixed-term private-law employment contracts to meet the needs of the Regional Governor and the Deputy Regional Governors.”
In November 2011, Befas signed a press release issued on behalf of Tzitzikostas, in his capacity as the Press Office.
The August 2011 Government Gazette entry on Befas’s “fixed-term” hiring
The Befas decision and Psomiadis’s suspension
The decision was signed by then-Deputy Regional Governor Dionysis Ch. Psomiadis, brother of then-Regional Governor Panagiotis Psomiadis.
As a reminder, from April 11, 2011, P. Psomiadis had been placed on suspension pending the outcome of his case before the Supreme Court, following a one-year prison sentence handed down by the Five-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki for reducing a fine imposed on a fuel station owner.
This meant P. Psomiadis was unable to carry out his duties, and his responsibilities were transferred to the Deputy Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, namely, his brother, Dionysis Psomiadis.
It was the developments surrounding P. Psomiadis that moved Tzitzikostas up a rung and effectively brought Befas into the spotlight. Tzitzikostas served as Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki from 2011 to 2013, and subsequently as Regional Governor of Central Macedonia from 2013 to 2024.
When Panagiotis Psomiadis was removed from office, Tzitzikostas was elected Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, with 33 votes against 17 for his rival candidate, Dionysis Psomiadis, a position he retained in the 2014 Regional Elections as well, when he ran as an independent candidate.
Another Tzitzikostas decision concerning Befas, this time in September 2019
Permanent scientific associate with pivotal responsibilities
From the moment Tzitzikostas became Regional Governor, Befas served as his scientific associate and, in practice, the man for the tough assignments.
In the Government Gazette, on September 5, 2019, following that year’s May elections, Befas was appointed “to the position of Scientific Associate to meet the needs of the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia for the new regional term. The Scientific Associate reports directly to the Regional Governor in support of his work.” The decision was signed by the re-elected Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Significant responsibilities are also listed, including: “The duties of the Scientific Associate consist of assisting the work of the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia on matters of Public Administration, Communication, and Culture, and additionally: a) supporting the operation of the Region of Central Macedonia’s office in Brussels, b) supporting the Region of Central Macedonia’s cooperation with European local-government institutions, networks of European Regions, and EU Regions, c) supporting the drafting and implementation of the Region of Central Macedonia’s development plan, and d) providing scientific support for the planning and implementation of co-financed projects of the Region of Central Macedonia.
In the New Democracy internal party elections, in charge of media relations
Befas was also part of Tzitzikostas’s team in the 2016 New Democracy internal party elections, which Kyriakos Mitsotakis won, with the then-Regional Governor finishing third.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas’s campaign headquarters was set up at 38 Tsimiski Street, with Befas in charge of media relations.
The €130 million from the NSRF
That same year, Befas announced eight NSRF actions worth €130 million to support entrepreneurship in Central Macedonia. The Region’s scientific associate stressed that the first of these actions would be put out to tender in September 2018, and that the Region’s “one-stop shop” for businesses was also expected to become operational that same month.
Befas was the speaker at a conference titled “Getting Started… The First Steps of My Business,” held at the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Tzitzikostas also delivered opening remarks.
All decisions on travel expenses at the Region, and the Table of contracts, teaching work, and project teams from the University
Decisions on travel expenses exceeding €80,000
There is a wealth of decisions granting Befas travel allowances, justified on the grounds of monitoring the progress of the Region’s NSRF and PIP projects. This is entirely lawful; even so, the total sum we uncovered in our investigation is anything but negligible, it’s notable, and certainly worth flagging.
Specifically, Befas received €84,911 in travel reimbursements between March 8, 2016, and February 9, 2026. By a rough calculation, based on the amounts he received for travel, K. Befas should logically have covered… 4,000,000 kilometers.
€37,000 at AUTH
Data Journalists uncovered a total amount of €37,000 that Befas received as a professor at the International University of Thessaloniki from 2025 onward.
According to the decisions, these amounts stemmed from teaching digital marketing, tourism geography, tourism, and other subjects.
The 5 decisions from 2023–24
Five “notable” decisions from 2023–24
Among the travel-expense decisions that stand out, mainly due to the size of the amounts, we identified five, all from the 2023–24 period:
- On 20.3.23: “Clearance-payment order of SA EP0082 titled REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF CENTRAL MACEDONIA, for a total amount of €1,973.61 for the project(s): 2011EP00820002.” As stated in the Diavgeia document, this concerns out-of-base travel for November–December for Technical Assistance to the Special Management Service. The amount breaks down into €480 for daily personnel allowance expenses, €925 for transport expenses, and €568 for overnight accommodation expenses.
- On 3.4.23: “Clearance-payment order of SA EP0082 titled REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF CENTRAL MACEDONIA, for a total amount of €2,593.53 for the project(s): 2011EP00820002.” As stated in the Diavgeia document, this concerns out-of-base travel for January–February for Technical Assistance to the Special Management Service. The amount breaks down into €660 for daily personnel allowance expenses, €16 for miscellaneous expenses, €1,185 for transport expenses, and €732 for overnight accommodation expenses.
- On 20.11.23: “Clearance-payment order of SA EP0082 titled REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF CENTRAL MACEDONIA, for a total amount of €1,374.39 for the project(s): 2011EP00820002.” As stated in the Diavgeia document, this concerns out-of-base travel for October for Technical Assistance to the Special Management Service.
- On 27.3.24: “Clearance-payment order of SA EP0082 titled REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF CENTRAL MACEDONIA, for a total amount of €1,242.61 for the project(s): 2011EP00820002.” With the same justification of Technical Assistance, for the months of January–February.
- On 28.11.24: “Clearance-payment order of SA EP0082 titled REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF CENTRAL MACEDONIA, for a total amount of €1,373.65 for the project(s): 2011EP00820002.” Again with the same justification, this time for October.
On the committee for PAOK, too
Those familiar with what goes on in Thessaloniki know that Befas has very close ties with PAOK basketball veteran star Vladimir “Bane” Prelević. But Tzitzikostas’s scientific associate was also involved, in 2018, in an, ultimately unsuccessful, effort concerning the football stadium of the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” (PAOK).
In November 2018, by decision of Regional Governor of Central Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas, a working group was set up for PAOK’s new stadium. The goal was to support the procedures related to the construction of PAOK’s sports facilities for “Nea Toumba.”
The following were appointed, unpaid, as members of the working group by the Regional Governor:
- Nikolaos Ioannou, Executive Secretary of the Region of Central Macedonia.
- Konstantinos Befas, Scientific Associate on European program matters to the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia.
- Christos Kravaritis, Deputy Head of the Transport Works Sub-Directorate of the Region of Central Macedonia.
- Savvas Ladopoulos, Head of the Spatial Planning Department of the General Directorate of Planning and Infrastructure of the Region of Central Macedonia.
- Christos Kotridis, Legal Advisor of the Region of Central Macedonia.
Media interest, basketball, and the stadium
According to data drawn from the relevant basketball statistical authorities, Konstantinos Befas, son of Theodoros, was born on July 25, 1981, and played for teams including PAOK, EAR, Arionas, and others between 1996 and 2004. He holds a PhD from the Democritus University on the Social Economy.
Gradually, Befas began to attract the attention of several media outlets. In October 2015, parapolitika.gr wrote that Apostolos Tzitzikostas’s team had grown considerably since he announced his candidacy for the New Democracy leadership, with new associates and many volunteers joining the staff that had stood by him at the Region, and that the closest of them remained Kostas Befas, also from Macedonia, described as the person the young Regional Governor trusted absolutely.
The article continued: “Befas, just 33 at the time, was described as the person who best understood Macedonia’s political dynamics and how Tzitzikostas operated, serving in that campaign too as the connecting link between the new associates and the leadership candidate. Tellingly, given his heavy workload, Tzitzikostas himself deferred many matters to his close associate, literally his right-hand man, and, as those in the know put it, highly capable.”
Irreplaceable under Aidona, too
Tzitzikostas chose not to take Befas with him to the Commission; Befas remained at the Region, retaining his position. In December 2024, the new Regional Governor, Athina Athanasiadou-Aidona, signed the decision retaining Befas “in the position of Scientific Associate to meet the needs of the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia,” with the same responsibilities he had held under Tzitzikostas, during the period when he was widely regarded as the key decision-maker behind the scenes.
