"Village" case: police officers, mayors and social security in net of 149 implicated
Serious evidence of involvement of government employees in tax fraud by Yiannakopoulos is revealed by the case file. Investigations are continuing by police and the Money Laundering Authority.
State mechanisms in service of the "Village" network
Police officers, employees of the social security service, the Labour Inspectorate and local government officials are alleged to have concealed and facilitated a tax fraud network run by businessman Angelos Yiannakopoulos — known through the "Village" enterprises and other related activities. To Vima reveals details from the voluminous case file that has been compiled and led to a large number of arrests, with the implicated individuals totalling approximately 149 people.
According to information from competent authorities, the case file records serious evidence of close relationships between state officials who actively participated in or facilitated illegal activities: tax fraud, money laundering and preferential treatment in tenders for coastal concessions and other activities on Rhodes and Mykonos.
What the recorded conversations reveal
From conversations recorded by police surveillance and included in the case file, three central lines of involvement of state actors emerge.
First, a police officer was in continuous communication with individuals implicated in the case, concerning the operation of a nightclub — strip club — in Athens. The investigations established that this business belonged to the complex corporate structures controlled by Yiannakopoulos.
Second, a public employee is alleged to have provided the network with timely information about administrative decisions and forthcoming competitive procedures. The same official is also alleged to have guided those implicated regarding the preparation of supporting documents, as well as regarding the possibility of companies' return to processes for the awarding of public property concessions, following their initial exclusion. His contacts were with a person who appeared as a representative of Yiannakopoulos's companies.
Third, contacts with a mayor are mentioned, who had meetings with an individual implicated in the case. In the hands of this implicated individual a confidential document of the National Transparency Authority was found, which was addressed to the mayor and concerned an aspect of the case.
Investigations in progress by police and the Money Laundering Authority
The investigation into the involvement of state employees is continuing at an intensive pace, according to information from competent authorities. Both the police authorities and the Money Laundering Authority — which participated in the investigations from the outset — are actively processing the evidence that has been gathered.
The network of connections emerging from the case file extends across multiple levels of the public sector: from social security and labour inspection services to local government and security bodies. The number of 149 implicated individuals and the range of charges — tax evasion, money laundering, manipulation of tenders — highlight the systematic nature of the case, as presented by To Vima based on information from the authorities.
Source: To Vima