Fifty-nine people arrested in a sprawling tax and social security fraud investigation linked to the Horiatiko bakery chain have been taken to court in Athens to face charges, in what investigators say cost the Greek state more than 100 million euros ($116 million).
By Irene Milly
A bus and a police van carried the suspects, including the chain's owner, Angelos Giannakopoulos, from Athens police headquarters to the city's main court complex.
There, a prosecutor was to bring criminal charges against them.
The suspects will then appear before an investigating magistrate, who is expected to give them time to prepare their defense before testifying.
Mr. Giannakopoulos was arrested Sunday in the northwestern city of Ioannina while allegedly heading for the Albanian border.
According to Greek media, he had been barred from leaving the country in an earlier case but traveled regularly to Dubai via Albania.
Investigators are examining a network of about 520 companies, many suspected of being shell firms run through straw men, to determine the full extent of alleged unpaid taxes and social security contributions.
Searches have also been carried out on the islands of Mykonos and Rhodes.
The case is the second major fraud investigation involving a well-known Greek food chain in a week, after the arrest of 23 people linked to the Pizza Fan pizza chain over alleged sales tax evasion.
All suspects are presumed innocent.