Attorneys for one of the five national television broadcasters that failed to acquire a license in a controversial electronic auction held by the Greek government last week filed a lawsuit against a businessman who also vied, unsuccessfully, for one of the four licenses.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Alpha TV on Thursday, charges electronic fraud against Ivan Savvidis, who participated in the auction with a company called Dimera.

Savvidis is a Russian citizen with an ethnic Greek background who owns the PAOK Thessaloniki football team and is a high-profile investor in northern Greece.

“The (alleged) violations deal with the actions and statements of Mr. Savvidis … who tried to deliberately raise the bid price to the detriment of the other participants; in fact, he twice submitted zero bids,” an attorney representing Alpha told reporters, adding that a complaint will also be filed with the EU over violations in laws governing tenders.

Representatives of eight companies bid for four licenses in four separate rounds over nearly three days, while holed up incommunicado at a relevant ministry building.