Sokratis Kokkalis facts for kids

Sokratis Kokkalis (Greek: Σωκράτης Κόκκαλης; born 1939) is a famous Greek businessman. He is known for founding and being a main owner of Intracom Holdings. He also played a big role in the world of Greek sports.

Sokratis Kokkalis is the son of Petros Kokkalis, a well-known doctor. Sokratis spent his younger years as a refugee in East Germany. In 1965, he moved to Greece permanently.

During the 1990s and 2000s, his company, Intracom, became very important in Greece. It was a top supplier for government projects, especially in the new field of IT. Intracom helped update the Greek phone network. They also set up the national "TAXIS" tax system. Other projects included the online computer network for OPAP (a lottery company) and networks for mobile phone companies. Intracom also helped with IT equipment for the 2004 Athens Olympics. They were involved in big railway and road building projects too.

Sokratis Kokkalis became even more famous when he bought Olympiacos F.C. in 1993. The football club was going through a tough time back then. For 10 years, he was the president and helped make Olympiacos successful again. He built a strong foundation for the club's future wins in Europe.

In 2001, he was listed among the world's richest people by Forbes magazine. He was ranked 421st with about US$1.2 billion.

He faced some questions from the media about his company's contracts with the government. These contracts were sometimes seen as unclear. He also faced some legal challenges, but these were eventually dropped. Because of his close ties to government-related businesses, some people called him "the supplier of the Nation."

Early Life and Education

Sokratis Kokkalis was born in Athens, Greece, on May 27, 1939. He was the first child of Petros Kokkalis and Niki Kouletsi. His father was a famous doctor, and his mother was a teacher. He also had a sister named Avgi-Polyxeni.

He spent some of his childhood in Fourna, Evritania. His father was involved in a group called the Political Committee of National Liberation during World War II. After the war, his family moved back to Athens. However, his parents' involvement in the Greek Civil War meant they had to leave Greece. They became political refugees in Belgrade, Serbia. Later, they moved to Romania in 1949.

In 1955, his family moved to East Berlin. There, his father became a director at the German Academy of Sciences. After finishing high school, Sokratis studied physics at Moscow State University. He later finished his studies at Humboldt University of Berlin. He earned a degree in physics, specializing in telecommunications and electronic technology. In 1963, he started working as an electronic engineer for East German television.

Sokratis Kokkalis returned to Greece briefly in 1962 when his father passed away. During this time, he met Greek business people. He decided he wanted to work in the business side of his academic field.

In 1965, he was able to settle in Greece permanently. He got help from a politician to regain his Greek citizenship. From then on, he started his business activities, working between East Germany and Greece.

He has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1969 to Sophia Skouras. They had a son named Petros Kokkalis in 1970. Later, he married Eleni Farmaki-Kokkali. They have two sons, Konstantinos and Socrates Jr.

Business Ventures

Sokratis Kokkalis began his business career in Greece in 1967. He was welcomed by the business community, especially those connected to the Centre Union political party.

Early Companies

In February 1967, he started a company called "GIMEX" with Aris Voudouris. This company focused on trading electrical and transportation machines. They represented East German companies. GIMEX made important deals, like providing phones to the Greek power company (PPC). They also delivered large excavators for a coal mine in Ptolemaida.

The partnership ended in 1974. Kokkalis then started a new company called "INTEGRA" with Konstantinos Dimitriadis. Thanks to his connections, this company did very well. Its main customers were OTE (the Greek phone company) and PPC (the power company).

In 1977, Kokkalis and Dimitriadis founded "INTRAKOM S.A." The company started with only 10 employees. They assembled telecommunications parts from Elektrotecnik. From 1977 to 1982, Intrakom grew. It started designing, developing, and making its own telecommunications products. The company always put its earnings back into the business to help it grow.

Growth and Major Projects

When the Left party, PASOK, came to power in 1981, Sokratis Kokkalis developed a special relationship with the new government. Because of his father's background and his own connections, the government saw him as a helpful figure. This led to favorable treatment for his businesses.

A big opportunity came in the mid-1980s. Greece decided to modernize its phone network. Laws allowed international companies to bid for government contracts if they owned at least 30% of a Greek company. This led to a long-term partnership between INTRAKOM and SIEMENS. Together, they earned a lot of money from these agreements with OTE.

Kokkalis's next big move was creating "INTRALOT" in 1992. In 1993, Intralot started working with OPAP, the Greek lottery organization. This partnership also raised some questions about how transparent the contracts were.

INTRALOT took over the management of the "KSISTO" scratchcard game. Between 1993 and 2003, Kokkalis's company managed a huge amount of money through KSISTO. In 1999, Intralot also started managing and running OPAP's football betting business, "PAME STOIXIMA." This became OPAP's most popular game, bringing in a lot of money for both Intralot and OPAP.

Changes in Leadership

In 2013, Kokkalis decided to step down from the board of directors at Intracom. His son, Konstantinos Kokkalis, was appointed to the board. Dimitris Klonis became the new chairman of the group. This was seen as a step back from daily business for Sokratis Kokkalis. It looked like his sons would take over.

However, his son Socrates Jr. passed away unexpectedly. Also, the company faced some financial challenges. Because of this, Sokratis Kokkalis returned to his role in 2019. He became the executive chairman at Intracom Holdings again.

Kokkalis then changed Intracom Group's strategy. He sold many of its smaller companies, like "INTRAKAT" and "INTRASOFT" International. The company then became an investment company. This means it focuses on investing in other businesses rather than making its own products. He explained this change by saying that in today's world, investments and assets are more important than making things.

Olympiacos Football Club

Sokratis Kokkalis first became involved with Olympiacos in 1991. He became the president of the basketball team. After the Greek national team won the EuroBasket in 1987, basketball became very popular in Greece. Kokkalis made smart changes and hired great coaches. These decisions helped the team win many Greek and European championships. For the first time, the team won five Greek championship titles in a row (1993-1997). They also won three cups and the Champions Cup in 1997.

He left his position as president of the basketball team in 2004. This was due to disagreements with the head of the Greek Basketball Federation. Later, the Angelopoulos brothers took over the team's financial responsibilities. They co-managed with Kokkalis until about 2010, when they took full control.

In 1993, he also took control of the football team. The team was in a very difficult situation. It was almost bankrupt and had a bad reputation because of past problems. In 1992, a new board was appointed, and Sokratis Kokkalis was a member. The club's large debts were managed through a special law. This law helped cancel some of the debts and allowed the rest to be paid back over many years.

In March 1993, Kokkalis became the president of the football club. During his time, the club achieved amazing success. They won 37 Greek Championships and 24 Greek Cups. He also improved the team's facilities. He built a new training center and the new Karaiskakis Stadium. This stadium was one of the best in Greece at the time.

The financial crisis that started in Greece around 2009 affected the Kokkalis family. His son, Petros S. Kokkalis, was the team's Vice President then. They decided to cut costs and look for other business people to invest in Olympiacos. When they couldn't find enough new investors, he sold his main share to Evangelos Marinakis on June 18, 2010.

Stasi Connections and Investigations

Historical records show that Sokratis Kokkalis was first approached by the Stasi (East German secret police) in 1963. He agreed to share information about people he knew. In return, he was allowed to do some small-scale trading between West and East Berlin. At that time, he worked as a technician for East German television.

When he visited Greece in 1962 for his father's funeral, he talked with a Stasi agent. They discussed the idea of him living in Greece and helping with trade between Greece and East Germany. This idea seemed promising. In 1965, he moved to Greece permanently. He got help from a politician and built connections in Greek political circles. His role as an informant ended that year. In 1968, his file with the codename "Rocco" was officially closed.

However, later information suggests that Kokkalis may have kept some connections with the Stasi. He is mentioned in a decoded Stasi file from 1998 with the code names "Kaskade" and "Krokus."

In 1982, he was first mentioned in a specific intelligence sector. In 1985, he was reportedly given a mission to help East Germany get Western technology, avoiding trade restrictions. He was known as "Crocus" during the final period, which lasted until 1989.

Public Information

In 1996, a German commission was set up to find and take back money that belonged to the former East German ruling party. This commission investigated how INTRAKOM was funded, especially its starting money. This is when the connection between Sokratis Kokkalis and the Stasi was first made public.

The investigation did not find clear proof. The commission's final report in 1998 stated that Sokratis Kokkalis was recruited by the Stasi in 1963 under the codename "Rocco." However, the documents did not show that he actively worked as an informant. The commission also could not definitively say if his companies, Integra and Intrakom, were linked to East German assets. No evidence was found to suggest the East German government or party was involved in his companies.

At the same time, a member of the commission, Friedhelm Beucher, publicly accused the German government of blocking the investigation into Kokkalis. He suggested that there might have been an agreement between the German and Greek Prime Ministers in 1992 not to investigate INTRACOM.

In 2002, a Greek journalist published documents that seemed to link Sokratis Kokkalis to the Stasi as an informer and later as a spy. These claims led to a legal investigation in Greece. In 2002, criminal charges were brought against Sokratis Kokkalis for several serious and less serious offenses. However, in 2003, the case about espionage was closed because too much time had passed since the alleged events. For the other charges, the investigation ended in 2007 with no further action.