By Tiffany Williams –
A former Chelsea, Massachusetts resident has been extradited from Stockholm, Sweden, and will face a judge Monday afternoon in the U.S. District Court in Boston.
Alexander Giannakakis, 37, was indicted by federal grand jury in Boston in 2019 for making false statements in a matter involving domestic terrorism; falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact in a matter involving domestic terrorism; concealing records in a federal investigation; tampering with documents and objects; and tampering with an official proceeding.
Giannakakis younger brother in 2022 was the primary suspect in an investigation into fires set at Jewish-related institutions in Arlington, Needham, and Chelsea.
The younger brother was hospitalized in a coma at the time he was identified as a suspect in February 2020, and he remained in a coma until his death later that year.
But authorities say. Alexander Giannakakis left the United States with his younger brother’s electronic devices and papers and brought them to Sweden, where he was living at the time.
When Giannakakis returned to the U.S. in March 2020, he was questioned by investigators, who say Giannakakis made false and misleading statements and allegedly removed and concealed physical evidence being sought by investigators, which implicated his brother.
Shortly after concealing that evidence, Giannakakis departed the United States for Sweden, and he remained in Sweden until his arrest by authorities in February 2022. That is when Massachusetts State Police says a State Police Trooper along with an FBI Agent traveled to Stockholm to assist the FBI Legal Attache’ and Swedish authorities in arresting Giannakakis.
The United States, in 2022, sought Giannakakis’ extradition from Sweden to the United States to face charges in Boston. However, when he was arrested in Sweden, Giannakakis unlawfully possessed a firearm and other weapons in Sweden. He was charged and convicted of those crimes and served a sentence in Swedish prison.
On Dec. 4, 2023, near the completion of that jail sentence, the Supreme Court of Sweden ruled favorably on the United States’ extradition request, and on Dec. 21, 2023, the Government of Sweden granted the request for Giannakakis’ extradition.
On Friday, Giannakakis arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston, and on Monday afternoon, he’ll appear before a judge at the Federal Court in Boston.