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The Hellenic Police’s Organized Crime Directorate has uncovered a massive tax evasion scheme at the well-known restaurant chain Pizza Fan. The loss to the Greek state is estimated at more than €35 million from 2016 to the present, while undeclared revenue is close to €150 million.

On Thursday, October 22, 2026, officers from the Financial Crimes Subdivision carried out a coordinated operation at offices, restaurants and homes in Attica and Thessaloniki. A total of 23 members of the organization were arrested, including its leader, and another 109 identified individuals are named in the case file. The charges, depending on the case, include running a criminal organization, money laundering, violations of the Tax Procedure Code and weapons offenses.

The “on the house” trick

The investigation began on a prosecutor’s order, following a complaint about possible violations of labor, social security and tax laws at the chain’s restaurants. Over several months, the Financial Crimes Subdivision worked with the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), with support from the Directorate’s Intelligence and Special Operations Subdivision and the Forensic Science Division.

According to police, the suspects had operated as a structured organization since at least 2016, with the aim of committing felony evasion of income tax and value-added tax (VAT). They did this by tampering with the order system and with the issuing of retail receipts through the chain’s electronic invoicing provider.

Customer orders were entered into a central ordering system and sent to the appropriate franchise store. When an order was completed, the system normally gave the employee the option to issue a receipt for cash or card payment, or to cancel the order.

For certain orders selected by a special algorithm, however, an extra option labeled “on the house” appeared. Using it:

  • The transaction was completed and the food was delivered to the customer as usual.
  • No retail receipt was ever issued.
  • The order was still recorded in the central system, allowing the ring’s leadership to track the stores’ real revenue and calculate how much was being hidden from the tax authorities.

Monthly cash meetings at a shopping mall

The illegal proceeds were moved in cash under strict security measures. The leaders organized monthly meetings in a room at a shopping mall, where the money was handed over and the network’s financial performance was presented and reviewed.

The financial investigation also found that the 68-year-old leader officially owned just 0.01% of the Greek company. The remaining 99.99% belonged to a foreign-based company whose real owners were the leader himself and his 51-year-old second-in-command. According to police, this setup allowed the group to avoid paying taxes to the Greek state and to move large sums from the Greek company through the financial system.

The structure of the organization

Police identified the role of each member:

  • 68-year-old (leader): Owner and manager of the franchise company. He ran the business and designed the structure of the organization.
  • 51-year-old (second-in-command): Owner of the foreign parent company. He served as the group’s main operational manager, acting as financial director.
  • 57-year-old (operations director): The link between the leadership and the stores. He coordinated and supervised use of the illegal function, handled customer complaints, passed on the leaders’ instructions to store managers, dealt with financial and operational issues and warned stores about upcoming inspections.
  • 51-year-old (IT director): Manager of the ordering system, responsible for the technical side of the scheme.
  • 37-year-old (accounting employee and store manager): In charge of recording, tracking, allocating, collecting and moving the illegal proceeds.
  • 47-year-old: Involved in financial monitoring, management and implementation of the scheme.
  • 40-year-old: Manager of two of the company’s stores, involved in the illegal operation of the scheme.
  • 43-year-old: Manager of stores in Thessaloniki and inspector of stores in other parts of Greece, with full knowledge of how the scheme worked.
  • 44-year-old (store inspector): Communicated with the leaders, passed on instructions and coordinated the scheme’s operation.

Major seizures

During searches of offices, stores and homes, authorities seized:

  • €1,288,732.60 in cash
  • 6 luxury cars and 3 motorcycles
  • 92 luxury watches and pieces of jewelry
  • 52 computer units, a fiscal cash register, laptops, tablets, hard drives, USB sticks, mobile phones and numerous notes

The seized cash will be sent to the Deposits and Loans Fund, and the digital evidence will go to the Forensic Science Division for laboratory analysis.

At the Directorate’s request, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority has started the process of freezing the assets of the individuals and companies involved. Police also prepared 108 audit reports covering 2023 through 2026, which were sent to AADE to determine the unpaid taxes and calculate the full extent of the evasion.

Union seeks support for 2,500 workers

The case also affects the chain’s employees. The Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers (POEET) has asked for about 2,500 workers at Pizza Fan’s 110 stores across Greece to be placed under contract suspension.

In a letter to Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus, the federation said this status would allow the employees to receive a special-purpose compensation payment and keep their social security coverage during the suspension period.

The suspects were brought before the public prosecutor.