All six defendants accused of operating a corruption network within urban planning departments across Attica, the greater Athens region, have been ordered into pre-trial detention.
The defendants are alleged to have engaged in bribery, accepting and offering illicit payments, while some are also accused of laundering illegal proceeds through purchases that reportedly included works of art.
Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against them for participation in a criminal organization, bribery, breach of duty, aggravated money laundering, and influence peddling.
According to reports, all of the defendants maintained their innocence during their testimonies.
Authorities believe the organization generated profits amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros through its illegal activities. Investigators seized sums believed to exceed €330,000. According to available information, €188,000 was discovered in the office of a senior official at the urban planning office of the Municipality of Galatsi, a suburb of Athens. She and her husband, who was removed from his position at the relevant office in Kifisia, are considered by authorities to have led the alleged criminal organization.
The case file includes recorded conversations among individuals believed to be members of the group, as well as specific urban planning cases that were allegedly handled by those involved in exchange for payments.
The defendants appeared before the judicial officer denying all charges against them and insisting that they never accepted illegal payments in the course of performing their duties.
As the 51-year-old defendant, an employee of the urban planning office of the Municipality of Kifisia, reportedly stated:
“Under no circumstances did I request or receive money for any administrative action. My sole purpose and guiding principle was the proper and lawful issuance of permits. My conversations with the other defendant (the alleged leader) took place in the context of seeking advice because of his considerably greater experience in this position.”
According to reports, the 57-year-old head of the Construction Inspection Department at Kifisia’s planning office told the investigating judge that he has frequently been called upon to provide explanations because, due to the nature of his responsibilities, “we are often exposed to all kinds of complaints.” He stressed that he had been cleared in every such case.
“I categorically deny all accusations attributed to me. During the 32 years I have worked for the Municipality of Kifisia, I have never, in any way, violated my duties, nor have I ever received money from anyone in order to perform my responsibilities.
“I can only express my surprise that I am facing such serious accusations without any investigation having been conducted to determine whether I actually violated my duties in any way regarding the acts attributed to me. Likewise, there has not been a single case in which it has been established that I unlawfully received money from anyone.
“All the accusations against me are based exclusively on my telephone conversations, mostly with friends and colleagues, the content of which has been completely distorted. Beyond that, there is no evidence against me. Absolutely none. Only telephone communications.”
The head of the Building Permit Issuance Department at the Municipality of Amarousio (Maroussi), another northern suburb of Athens, stated during her testimony that throughout her 25 years of service she had never “requested or received from anyone any sum of money or any other form of benefit, either for myself or for another person.”
