Greek police dismantled a criminal organization accused of defrauding the state of more than €13.3 million through a network of shell companies, arresting five suspects in an operation across Thessaloniki, authorities said.
The Northern Greece Organized Crime Unit said two of the five detained — a 40-year-old and a 41-year-old — allegedly held leadership roles and were responsible for setting up the fraudulent companies.
A 52-year-old is accused of acting as a liaison between the ring's leaders and so-called "front men," while a 40-year-old and a 56-year-old served as the shell companies' registered managers.
Eighteen additional identified individuals, described as suppliers of stolen goods or recipients of smuggled products, are also named in the case file.
Investigators say the scheme, active since at least September 2022, relied on registering shell companies under front men — often people in financially vulnerable circumstances paid between €500 and €1,500 a month — to make intra-EU purchases from other member states without paying VAT.
The imported goods were then funneled into the Greek market through the shell companies, with fabricated invoices used to shift tax liability onto the nominal company managers.
Police say the group continually formed new companies to avoid accumulating large tax debts under any single entity and to make the operation harder to trace.
Investigators calculated direct losses to the Greek state at over €2.35 million in unpaid taxes and social security contributions, while the front men are collectively listed as owing more than €11 million tied to their nominal business roles.
The case also uncovered trafficking of at least 572 bottles of smuggled alcohol and stolen goods worth €7,350.
Searches of homes, businesses and vehicles turned up 122 bottles of contraband alcohol, 84 e-cigarettes, 76 kilograms of coffee, thousands of coffee capsules, cash, company seals and banking documents.
All five suspects have been referred to prosecutors on felony charges including participation in a criminal organization, aggravated fraud against the state, smuggling and handling stolen goods.