Authorities in northern Greece have dismantled what they described as a criminal gang accused of using shell companies to evade VAT remittances and defraud the state of more than 13.3 million euros.
Five people, including two alleged members of the gang’s leadership, were arrested during an operation in greater Thessaloniki on Monday. Eighteen other people have been identified in a case file.
The suspects face charges including forming a criminal gang, fraud against the state, receiving and distributing proceeds of crime, and violations of the customs code.
According to police, the gang had been operating since at least September 2022, setting up shell companies whose registered managers were allegedly acting as fronts.
The companies’ tax identification numbers were used for commercial transactions aimed at avoiding VAT payments to the state. The gang allegedly bought goods from businesses in other EU member states through intra-community transactions, which are not subject to VAT at the point of purchase, and subsequently distributed the goods on the Greek market through the shell companies.
Tax invoices were issued for the transactions, with the resulting tax liabilities transferred to the individuals listed as company managers, according to authorities.
The 18 people identified in the case allegedly either supplied the gang with stolen goods or received smuggled products for distribution.
Authorities said the nominal company managers were either paid between 500 and 1,500 euros a month or were people experiencing money problems or on society’s margins.
The gang allegedly established successive new companies to prevent large tax debts from accumulating under a single tax identification number and make it more difficult for authorities to trace the alleged illegal activity.
