A very well-organized scam involving “straw men” running sham companies mostly appearing as food-and-beverage enterprises and computer stores, was uncovered by the independent tax bureau (AADE) using AI technology.
According AADE, the criminal enterprise involved no less than 205 people, mostly foreign nationals, who appeared as owners/managers of 380 businesses.
The masterminds behind the scam are 10 local men and a foreign national, who were arrested by police and tax inspectors after a coordinated early morning raid at various residences in the greater Athens area.
The arrests come after the tax bureau employed an advanced algorithm to track transactionsa and overall tax behavior of the businesses.
Specifically, the AI-assisted program detected 317 companies that had accrued arrears of 27 million euros to the tax bureau and 16 million euros to social security funds.
Companies would close in rapid fashion, with suspects immediately establishing new ones.
