Μake us preferred on Google A man who died in 2025 was still listed as the manager of 22 companies with debts exceeding €2 million. Another, who died two years earlier, remained registered as a manager and shareholder in 19 businesses.
These are among the findings emerging from the case file of the massive tax evasion investigation in Thessaloniki, which reveals how an alleged network of lawyers, accountants and businessmen used nominal company managers, known as “straw men,” to conceal the identities of actual business owners and transfer financial liabilities to third parties.
According to information from the investigation, at least 12 deceased individuals continued to appear in corporate structures. Some of the people whose names were used were homeless, living on welfare benefits or working for extremely low wages. Others allegedly had no knowledge that companies had been registered in their names.
From Dishwashers to Company Directors
One of the most revealing cases concerns a man with no declared income who appeared in the records of ten companies allegedly responsible for more than €30 million in losses to the Greek state.
Despite his apparent corporate responsibilities, the man worked part-time as a dishwasher earning €454 a month and also as a truck driver earning €440.
Other individuals facing severe financial hardship appeared as managers of as many as 40 companies each, despite having no apparent resources to support such extensive business activities.
In another case, a 59-year-old man who died in 2025 was still registered, until recently, as the manager of 22 companies linked to the alleged network. According to a relative who spoke to Greek television station MEGA, the businesses had accumulated debts exceeding €2 million.
A second deceased individual, who died in 2023, continued to appear in tax authority records as the recipient of official documents. He was listed as a manager and shareholder in 19 companies, with reported debts of €14,816.44.
The alleged exploitation extended to people with serious health conditions.
One individual with an 80% disability following a hemorrhagic stroke said that an accountant who was also a trusted neighbor had used their personal tax ID credentials, known in Greece as Taxisnet credentials, to establish companies without their knowledge.
“I trusted him. He had my Taxisnet credentials and set up several companies in my name. I knew nothing about it,” the individual said.
Ready-Made Straw Men for €2,500
According to the case file, the alleged scheme was organized into four separate branches, each responsible for a different aspect of the operation.
A prominent Thessaloniki lawyer allegedly supplied ready-made packages of straw men to business owners for between €2,000 and €2,500. The packages reportedly included the documentation necessary to install nominal managers, in some cases accompanied by forged stamps from Citizens’ Service Centers (KEP).
A second branch, led by an accountant nicknamed “the Architect,” allegedly established shell companies to which tax liabilities and debts could be transferred.
Another accountant was reportedly responsible for recruiting individuals willing, or in some cases apparently unaware, to have their names associated with the companies.
The fourth branch was allegedly headed by a woman nicknamed “the Storefront,” who handled undeclared cash receipts.
Investigators reportedly found 62 company stamps in her possession, along with an Excel file containing 4,036 Taxisnet login credentials.
A separate file containing Taxisnet credentials and point-of-sale terminal information was also discovered during the investigation.
The findings suggest a coordinated infrastructure for establishing and managing companies under third-party identities, rather than isolated cases of false corporate registration.
The Businessmen Behind the Names
According to investigators, the actual business operators included prominent figures in Thessaloniki’s restaurant, nightlife and real estate sectors.
Their alleged method was to remain outside official company records while retaining control of business operations and collecting the profits.
The individuals registered as owners or managers, meanwhile, became associated with the companies’ mounting tax and social security liabilities.
Many of the businesses appeared legitimate on the surface. Cash registers were operating and commercial activity continued, creating the impression of ordinary business operations.
The case file also reportedly includes three former professional athletes- two footballers and a basketball player- whose possible involvement is being examined. None was among those arrested when the information became public, while investigators are also reportedly examining the possible involvement of relatives.
How Did the System Go Undetected?
Investigators are now focusing on identifying the actual owners of the businesses registered under the names of nominal managers and determining the roles of those involved in the alleged network.
The first group of arrested suspects is expected to appear before an investigating magistrate on Tuesday, November 10, to respond to the charges against them. Authorities are also continuing their search for two businessmen suspected of playing key roles in the operation.
Beyond the alleged criminal activities, the revelations raise questions about the safeguards governing company registration and the verification of corporate managers in Greece.
