Defendants in the Choriatiko case are due to begin giving statements, with 30 appearing in the morning and the owner in the afternoon. The case file runs to more than 500 pages and names numerous people, including public officials and police officers who are alleged to have helped the network evade tax and launder money through the bakery chain.
According to reports, the file is being referred to the Internal Affairs Service of the Hellenic Police, so that the precise role of the public officials named in the case file can be established.
The individuals worked in inspection bodies and are alleged to have turned a blind eye or even co-operated with the network, enabling other members of the criminal group to make millions through tax evasion and money laundering. Within the network, these individuals were allegedly referred to as “godchildren”, “our people”, “cousins” and “aunts”.
The officials worked for the tax authority, EFKA and the Labour Inspectorate. Network members allegedly bribed them with what they called “little lipsticks” — a code name that appears to have been literal. In return, the officials turned a blind eye or tipped them off about inspections due to take place at the group’s premises.
Police seek to identify two officers
Meanwhile, police are trying to identify two of their colleagues who were involved with the network. One allegedly acted as an informant, telling members when inspections of the group’s businesses were due to take place. The second is alleged to have received €1,500 from one of the defendants, for reasons that remain unclear.
According to reports, a third person within the Hellenic Police may also have tipped off the 57-year-old alleged ringleader that his arrest was imminent. He devised a plan, repeatedly changing hideouts to evade capture, but ultimately failed.
“Big One”, “Daddy” and his right-hand woman
The network was headed by the 57-year-old owner of the “Choriatiko” chain and other well-known bakery chains, whom the other members called “Big One” and “Daddy”. The case file shows that members used pseudonyms extensively to avoid attracting attention and conceal their illegal activities.
His right-hand woman was a 47-year-old who stepped in when things got difficult. One example was a workplace accident a few months ago at a bakery run by the network on Syngrou Avenue.
The 47-year-old spoke to a supervisor at the Labour Inspectorate and then to an accomplice, whom she instructed to buy perfumes and lipsticks for at least ten public officials due to take part in the investigation into the accident. They allegedly bribed the officials with these “gifts” to get them to turn a blind eye.
The “little gifts” — expensive perfumes and lipsticks — may have been handed out regularly whenever an illegal activity needed to be facilitated, adding up to substantial value. The authorities will also examine the flow of money to public officials to determine whether some of the profits ended up in their hands.
Millions abroad and a property in Mykonos
The financial evidence is significant, as network members are alleged to have moved huge sums abroad through money laundering, mainly in Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Denmark. They bought a property in Mykonos for at least €2.6 million, in an attempt to launder some of their profits.
They had also set up fictitious companies in Dubai. Invoices for 10% of the profits were issued to these companies through a third party; the money was transferred there and returned to Greece in cash. The money trail appears to have been uncovered by officers from the “Greek FBI”.
Strip clubs and the extortion of women
It has also emerged which nightclubs were operated by members of the group: two strip clubs on Syngrou Avenue, one in Ilisia and one in Mykonos. According to reports, women were trafficked there and blackmailed into prostitution. The money went to the bakeries, where the illicit profits were laundered.
with information from ERT