The President of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority has ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of the head of Greece’s largest workers’ union, the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), Giannis Panagopoulos.
Panagopoulos is allegedly involved in the embezzlement of national and European funds intended for educational and training programs.
According to the authority’s findings, Giannis Panagopoulos, in his capacity as president of the union, had embezzled funds estimated at 73 million euros earmarked for vocational training and educational programs.
Based on the authority’s report, the funds, released between 2020 and 2025, were illegally funnelled via direct concessions or state call-to-tenders to a select number of companies and intermediary firms.
Crucially, multiple direct concessions were not even published on the Diavgia (Transparency) portal, the report found.
Regarding the concessions via call-to-tenders, the report observed that the companies, chosen by a committee chaired by Panagopoulos, would alternate in receiving the funds.
The report determined that in many cases, some of the subcontracting firms awarded the funds appeared to be defunct or lacked the required staff and infrastructure. Part of the funds was allocated directly to the firms in hard cash, revealing, as the authority notes, they acted as “vehicle” companies laundering the money.
Furthermore, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority observed the illegal transfer of large sums of money to individual bank accounts, as well as numerous cash withdrawals exceeding 1.5 million euros. This suggests a deliberate scheme of concealing the source, and, finally, the misappropriation of funds.
