Extradition refused for one of Australia’s most wanted

Police vowed to continue their search for justice for the murder, which has been going on for nearly three decades, after the alleged killer’s extradition request was rejected.

According to local media reports, James Dalamangas was arrested on June 7 in the town of Aigio in Greece’s Peloponnese Peninsula.

The 55-year-old man had been living under an assumed name in Greece since an arrest warrant was issued for him following the death of George Giannopolous.

The father of two was fatally stabbed after intervening in a fight at a suburban Sydney nightclub on Anzac Day in 1999.

NSW Police said they were aware that Greek authorities would refuse Australian police’s request to extradite Dalamangas because the alleged crime fell outside Greece’s statute of limitations.

“James Dalamangas remains one of Australia’s most wanted,” a NSW Police spokesman said in a statement.

“There is an active arrest warrant in New South Wales for the murder of George Giannopoulos, who was fatally stabbed in Sydney in 1999.

“The NSW Police Force remains steadfast in its stance that geographical boundaries should not be a barrier to accountability for violent crime.”

The spokesman said NSW Police, together with the AFP, the federal attorney general and international partners, would continue to explore all avenues for his extradition.

A prominent figure in the underworld, Dalamangas has eluded Australian authorities for decades.

Police first tried to extradite him to Australia in 2003, and attempts by his Greek counterparts to prosecute him were suspended in 2007.

A $200,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest.

In 2024, Australian authorities and Mr Giannopolous’s family requested assistance as a last resort as Greece’s 25-year statute of limitations approached its end.

“Our detectives continue to be in close contact with the Giannopoulos family,” NSW Police said.

“We are deeply committed to supporting them and will not stop our efforts to seek long-awaited justice for George.”

According to the Greek Reporter, Dalamangas went unnoticed because he took the pseudonym Anthonios Tzimas and lived in a house surrounded by high walls and guard dogs.