New Exposé by Domumento Reveals Nefarious Triangular Link of ‘Black Money’ with New Democracy, Blue Skies, & Truth Team

New evidence and revelations emerging about the “Truth Team” and the propaganda apparatus of Greece’s ruling New Democracy (ND) party and the prime minister’s office are now divulging a reality far beyond simple public opinion manipulation or character assassination of political rivals. What comes to light is a murky, labyrinthine mechanism operating within the party—one that channels, in effect, illicit business funds into ND to cover its core operational needs.

The latest exposé by the Documentonews.gr news site lays bare what appears to be a surreptitious path of indirect financing of ND through the business sector—transactions that, as widely understood, rarely occur without expectations of reciprocal benefit. The Blue Skies company seems to be at the center of this nefarious scheme, functioning as the party’s informal “treasurer”, while the infamous “Truth Team” acted as its primary operative arm. Both entities were deeply intertwined, with “Truth Team” personnel listed on Blue Skies’ payroll alongside numerous ND members—some of whom later ascended to ministerial roles.

More than half of the 57 employees who passed through Blue Skies’ payroll were, according to evidence, working full-time for New Democracy, with roles that extended beyond communications into critical government functions. One telling example is a key advisor to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself.

What is being exposed is a hidden financial network—corporate money funneled discreetly into a political party. The revelations raise not only serious ethical and political concerns but also critical legal and tax-related issues, particularly in relation to Greece’s laws on political party financing.

But the odious links and relationships run even deeper. Advisors to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, government ministers, officials from state agencies, and party operatives who have been working for ND for years are officially listed as employees of Blue Skies.

When contacted by Documento, company representatives claimed that these individuals are genuine Blue Skies employees and only engage with New Democracy in their spare time. However, this assertion defies logic. It is simply implausible to suggest that a top advisor who accompanies Mitsotakis on every official trip is doing so as a hobby in their free time.

Thomas Varvitsiotis—the son of former ND minister Yiannis Varvitsiotis and brother of Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, also a former minister under Kyriakos Mitsotakis—along with the other shareholder, Yiannis Olympios, provided the “entrepreneurial” cover for what amounts to a violation of democratic principles and the legal framework governing the operation of political parties.

The Predator–New Democracy–V+O Triangle

A particularly striking detail is that the two co-founders of V+O were themselves victims of wiretapping—despite their close, multi-level collaboration with the Maximos Mansion. While Thomas Varvitsiotis and Yiannis Olympios were managing the communications strategy for all four systemic Greek banks and holding contracts with major corporate giants, they were also handling political communications and crisis management for the very individual who was surveilling them.

As Documento revealed in November 2022, both men were being monitored through the Predator spyware as well as by Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP). Despite the gravity of these revelations, and their direct connections to New Democracy and their founding role in Blue Skies S.A., neither Varvitsiotis nor Olympios responded with legal action—a telling indication of their close ties to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In 2020, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis officially announced the appointment of political strategist Thanos Bakolas as a senior advisor. The press release described Bakolas as “a close associate of the Prime Minister for the past eight years.” According to official records, Bakolas had been on the payroll of Blue Skies since 2016, only leaving in December 2019—at which point Mitsotakis was already Prime Minister and brought him into the Maximos Mansion as of January 2, 2020.

Another example is Konstantinos Bardakas, who appeared on Blue Skies’ payroll in 2018 and 2019. According to media reports, Bardakas was known as Mitsotakis’s “Taliban”—a fiercely loyal aide who accompanied him on every campaign tour, even being described as his “guardian angel.” Yet, under the company’s version of events, we are to believe that he was simultaneously present at political rallies in Elefsina and Alexandroupoli, and working at the Blue Skies offices—an assertion that defies any reasonable logic.

Other notable figures linked to Blue Skies are:

Konstantinos Kyranakis: From Blue Skies to Parliament and the Cabinet

Konstantinos Kyranakis, the current Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport following the March cabinet reshuffle—and formerly Deputy Minister of Digital Governance—had a paid working relationship with Blue Skies from March 2016 until July 2019.

According to his official biography on the Hellenic Parliament’s website, as well as his LinkedIn profile, Kyranakis served as New Democracy’s Deputy Press Spokesperson from September 2016 to February 2019.

Domna-Maria Michailidou: Between Cambridge, the OECD, and Blue Skies

Domna-Maria Michailidou, currently serving as Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, was on the payroll of Blue Skies from 2018 until July 2019. During the same period, she is also listed as a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Strangely, despite her extensive and detailed professional résumé—which outlines her academic and international experience—there is no mention whatsoever of Blue Skies.

Orsaki Roussetou: The “Mata Hari of Maximos”

Orsaki Roussetou has been on the payroll of Blue Skies since October 2019 and remains listed there to this day. According to well-sourced reports, she is not engaged in online trolling, but instead serves as a translator within the team of renowned communications strategist Stan Greenberg, who has been in charge of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s campaign messaging.

Roussetou previously coordinated New Democracy’s strategic initiatives in London, as stated in her biography. In 2018, she worked as part of Mitsotakis’s communications team during his pre-election campaigns. However, her official résumé makes no mention of Blue Skies.

In 2022, she was elected to New Democracy’s Political Secretariat. She is known to be a close friend of Giorgos Gerapetritis and, according to media reports, enjoyed his political backing.

Konstantinos Doganis: The Operator Behind the “Truth Team”

Konstantinos Doganis has been employed by Blue Skies since October 2019 and remains on the company’s payroll. He previously served as a special advisor in the press office of then-Prime Minister Antonis Samaras from 2012 to 2015.

Alongside Kimonas Benas, Doganis was part of the team led by Giorgos Mouroutis, who at the time headed the Prime Minister’s press office. This group would later evolve into the infamous “Truth Team,” New Democracy’s propaganda unit.

In 2019, the same year he began working at Blue Skies, Doganis co-founded Render Media with Benas—who is also affiliated with Blue Skies—and in 2021, the duo launched a second company, Adjustment IKE.