A raft of serious charges has been brought against the 59 people arrested in connection with the fraud and massive tax-evasion case involving the owner of the “Choriatiko” bakery chain.
The detainees face a string of felony charges:
- Forming, directing and participating in a criminal organisation.
- Fraud against the Greek state and legal entities governed by public law, involving more than €120,000.
- Tax evasion of more than €150,000 through the submission of an inaccurate tax return and the failure to remit VAT.
- Complicity in tax evasion.
- Forgery involving more than €120,000.
- Procuring, jointly and on a repeated basis.
- Robbery, jointly.
- Repeated breach of residence restrictions.
- Aggravated money laundering.
Charges for two misdemeanours:
- Failure to pay employer and employee social security contributions on time.
- Fraud, jointly.
The case file was assigned to an investigating magistrate, with two assistant investigating magistrates appointed because of the large number of defendants.
Businessman’s wife faces money-laundering charges
According to ERTnews, the foreign national wife of the 57-year-old businessman was brought in and questioned over money laundering.
The Russian national was found travelling in a luxury car with two other people on the Corinth–Patras motorway. The jeep was stopped at the Rio tolls, and police officers believe she was about to flee either to neighbouring Italy or to Albania.
A large sum of money was found in her bank account which, according to police sources, came from money laundering.
The investigation so far has found €6 million in the bank account of the businessman’s wife and in accounts belonging to two people close to him. The funds have been frozen.
Police sources also said that more than 100 accounts belonging to people who worked with the businessman had been frozen and would be examined.
In addition, the police investigation found the books of the companies managed by the businessman and his associates in electronic archive form at the central offices on Kifisou Avenue. They will be examined in the coming period.
The more than 40 front men played an important role in the criminal group’s activities. They included elderly people, people living abroad and people on low incomes. One had died three years earlier, yet shop licences continued to be obtained in his name.
There were 15 arrests on Rhodes, one on Mykonos, one on Zakynthos, two in Aetolia-Acarnania, and the rest in Attica.
Front men behind millions
With the help of the Authority for Combating Money Laundering, €6 million was traced and frozen in three bank accounts opened by front men.
It was found that the accused owner was the real beneficiary. Searches of homes uncovered €250,000-€300,000, and the prosecutor has been asked for permission to open bank safe-deposit boxes as well.
The businessman’s dark past
The pimping allegations could not be substantiated under the in-flagrante-delicto procedure, but this aspect is also being investigated in connection with strip clubs on Syngrou Avenue, where sex workers arranged meetings with clients through sex ads.
The businessman has come to the attention of the Organised Crime Division many times. In 2008, he was involved in a trafficking and pimping case involving dancers he brought from Eastern European countries to the strip clubs he ran. The money laundering linked to these activities is alleged to have been carried out through his bakery chain.
The businessman was also said to have had close ties to the Greek Mafia and to have been targeted for extortion by the Russian-speaking mafia of Edik.
He often hid in Dubai and was arrested on Sunday morning in Ioannina. He had planned to cross into Albania and leave the country again, as the restrictions imposed on him meant he could not legally travel from Greek airports.
with information from ERT