Μake us preferred on Google One of the defendants in a tax evasion network dismantled in Thessaloniki has been remanded in custody. He is alleged to have acted as the criminal group’s accountant. The network is accused of leaving the Greek state with more than €200 million in unpaid taxes and other obligations. Meanwhile, four of those arrested were released under restrictive conditions after completing their statements late Tuesday.
Three of the business owners released were placed under a travel ban, required to report to a police station once a month and ordered to pay bail of €5,000 each, according to the case file. They are accused of accumulating debts totaling €2.1 million and then establishing four legal entities operated by nominal managers in an attempt to evade payment.
One of the three defendants reportedly admitted that he knew “what was happening and that it was wrong,” but argued that their actions were intended to keep the business afloat after it suffered major financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fourth defendant was also released under restrictive conditions: a ban on leaving the country, monthly reporting to a police station and bail of €20,000. He denied the charges, saying that he currently owns 12 food-service businesses in various parts of Thessaloniki and has no outstanding debts to the tax authorities or social security funds.
According to law enforcement authorities, however, this businessman allegedly operated behind corporate structures with a longstanding presence in the food-service sector. The companies would accumulate substantial debts under nominal managers before their equipment and profits were transferred to a new, “clean” company, allowing the same business activity to continue.
In a statement, Nikos Chatzinikolaou, a lawyer representing one of the defendants, challenged the legal basis of the charges.
“The failure to pay legitimate obligations to the state — as indeed to a private individual — cannot, even when accompanied by actions intended to conceal the identity and business status of the debtor, constitute [a criminal offense of fraud],” he said.
“If one wished to address the conduct under investigation through the threat of felony penalties, this could only be done through tax evasion offenses, by bringing the relevant charges against the actual individuals involved — including those operating behind the scenes — where and under the conditions provided for by the relevant legal framework. This is, moreover, implicitly acknowledged in the report submitted to the authorities.
“Instead of issuing such tax assessments, which would necessarily require a more thorough investigation and documentation of specific taxable amounts, as well as the submission of relevant criminal complaints, it appears that the blanket approach chosen was to claim that all the conduct in question was covered by the crime of fraud.
“This is a short-sighted decision that will certainly undermine future efforts to prosecute the phenomenon under investigation. Among its many problematic aspects, the material elements of the alleged fraud and tax evasion offenses are identical. As a result, the criminal prosecution now under consideration will make it impossible to examine the only offense capable of reflecting the criminal culpability of those actually responsible.”
A 34-year-old defendant, who according to the case file acted as a front for an accountant, also denied the charges during questioning. Investigators reportedly found an extensive client list at the accountant’s office, including shell companies and nominal managers.
The 34-year-old said he had no accounting qualifications and had taken over management of the office to prevent employees from losing their jobs. He said he was accused in connection with three companies with total debts of €139,000, whose activities he claimed he knew nothing about.
“I have nothing to do with this. I took over at the beginning of 2025, operating as a sole proprietorship that also included the previous accountant’s associates. I am not an accountant, but I did it because I have three underage daughters with health problems and the jobs needed to be preserved.
“The fraud charge against me concerns debts of €139,000 involving three companies with which I have no connection,” he reportedly said in his statement.
Earlier, with the agreement of the investigating magistrate and prosecutor, Errikos Petillon and another 35-year-old defendant were released. Both had been arrested as part of an investigation by Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), accused of serving as nominal managers of companies set up by the network to avoid paying taxes and social security contributions.
Petillon attributed his actions to the health and addiction problems he faces, saying he had not known what was going on. He acknowledged that he received monthly payments in return for his involvement, which he said he used to cope with financial difficulties.
The 35-year-old, who works as a delivery driver, claimed that his Taxisnet credentials — used to access Greece’s digital tax services — had been stolen and that he had been appointed manager of eight legal entities without his knowledge.
