Greek police have arrested five members of a criminal organization operating in northern Greece, breaking up an extensive fraud scheme that cost the Greek state more than 11 million euros in lost revenue, state broadcaster ERT reported.
According to investigators, the group imported goods from Bulgaria without the required customs documentation and then sold them on the Greek market at sharply discounted prices. The ring is alleged to have built an elaborate network of shell companies to funnel the products into the retail supply chain while evading VAT and income tax altogether.
Two individuals identified as the operation’s ringleaders played a central role in the scheme, using so-called “front men” as the companies’ legal representatives, authorities said. Whenever one company collapsed under mounting debt, the perpetrators allegedly opened a new one almost immediately, exploiting the tax identification numbers of associates willing to lend their names to the operation.
The case was uncovered by the Northern Greece Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. The resulting case file names at least 20 additional individuals, and authorities said the investigation remains active, with further arrests not ruled out in the near future.
