A 48-year-old Greek national was arrested in Thessaloniki under a European Arrest Warrant over alleged tax evasion in Germany amounting to 29.6 million euros, Greek police said.
According to a police statement, the suspect is alleged to have played a central role with effective managerial involvement in a Berlin-based corporate structure that carried out fictitious commercial transactions and submitted claims for unlawful value-added tax refunds.
Investigators identified his alleged involvement in seven cases of tax evasion, with the total estimated loss to the German state exceeding 29.6 million euros.
During a search of his residence, authorities seized, among other items, two cryptocurrency hardware wallets, four laptops, three tablets, a desktop computer, an external hard drive, and cash totalling 5,000 euros and 100 U.S. dollars.
The digital evidence will be handed over to German authorities for further analysis, while the seized cash will be transferred to Greece’s Deposits and Loans Fund.
The suspect was brought before the Thessaloniki Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, where extradition proceedings to Germany are expected to begin.
