Tax evasion ring in Thessaloniki: thousands of ghost workers in catering and entertainment
A two-year investigation by the AAAE reveals a tax evasion ring involving up to 90% of large catering establishments in Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki.
Tax evasion in restaurants and entertainment venues: the investigation sweeping through Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki
A major tax evasion case in the catering and entertainment sector is at the centre of an investigation that has been conducted for approximately two years by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AAAE) in cooperation with the audit services of the Ministry of Finance, according to Newsbeast.
The case concerns establishments in Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki and is estimated to involve between 80% and 90% of significant catering and entertainment venues in these two regions.
The role of the pandemic and the accountant
Police journalist Vasilis Lampropoulos, reporting the details of the case, stated that the common scheme appeared to have started during the coronavirus period. According to the picture given by some of those accused, the serious financial problems they faced shortly before and after the pandemic served as a common starting point for the agreement.
"At some point there was a common understanding among all these entrepreneurs," said Lampropoulos. "Gradually the system of regular proprietorships that existed until 2020-2021 ceased to exist, and there was collusion with accountants and lawyers, with a common front, so that this scheme could begin with thousands of ghost workers who suddenly appeared in all these establishments."
According to the same source, this tactic also concerns businesses that opened after the coronavirus in recent years. "It was a common practice in Thessaloniki," he noted, pointing out that similar rings had been dismantled a few months earlier in the retail trade sector, with imports from Bulgaria, where hundreds of ghost workers — migrants and foreigners with economic and health problems — had been used in the same way.
A method that "spreads by word of mouth"
Lampropoulos characterised this method as repetitive and organised. "It is a common scheme that occurs, spreads by word of mouth, based on all the behind-the-scenes activities of many people who fear nothing, and dozens of businesses in all areas," he said. This method, according to him, forms part of a broader general scheme of recent years using the same system.
Viber conversations in the case file — without lifting of confidentiality
Of particular interest, according to Lampropoulos, is the fact that the case file includes Viber conversations without the lawful interception mechanism of the Greek Police or EYP having been activated.
"It is a big question why there have been no lifts of confidentiality in this investigation," he commented. "And it is remarkable why the systems of private companies do not have a Viber recording system either."
According to the same source, it appears that in certain phases of the investigation — with conversations dating to 2023 and 2024 — the authorities located the devices of certain accused or implicated persons and examined the contents of their mobile phones on site. "There was no investigation from the forensic laboratories. They saw it on site, with on-site access, they saw what these messages contained and passed them to the case file," Lampropoulos concluded.
Source: Newsbeast