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The economic police froze the accounts and assets of 121 Greeks

07 September 2012 / 14:09:09  GRReporter
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The economic police froze the bank accounts, stocks and real estate of 121 individuals and companies in Greece for whom there are data that they are hiding income in extremely large amounts. After careful checking and data crossing from many sources over the past several years these people and companies have been found guilty of tax evasion, issuing false invoices, not providing receipts and not paying VAT to the state.

The economic police has caught them through their bank accounts which do not correspond in any way to their declared income. In the suspects' bank accounts, which were opened after a prosecutor's order, tens of millions, both in euros and in foreign currency, have been found. "Any patience towards those who avoid paying taxes has run out. No matter how high their position is", said Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras.

Expensive real estate has been seized, at least six holiday houses in Athens, on Mykonos and other cosmopolitan islands, properties have been attached. These are villas with pools and the most luxurious of them is located in the Athens suburb of Voula. More than 50 million euro in Greek banks has also been frozen. 20 million of which belongs to an off-shore company which has not paid property tax and which has not even reported that it has the money.

When the property is attached, the owner cannot sell or transfer it to another person, and when bank accounts are frozen, money transfer is not possible and the owners can neither draw the money, nor can they transfer it to other accounts. The economic police have seized shares as well, which have been acquired on the Athens and the New York Stock Exchange worth 640,000 euro. Investments in insurance companies have also been confiscated.

Despite the willingness of international lenders for the names of people who evade taxes to be made public, by order of Yiannis Stournaras, this has not been done yet. It is publicly known, however, that among the 121 cases, there are three hotel complexes - one on the Ionian Islands, and two on the Dodecanese islands, farmers who have been draining VAT through false documents, a stock company, a company for photovoltaic energy, a banker who has been caught for money laundering, an automotive electrician, in whose bank account 140,000 euro have been found without the relevant documents.

In Greece, the mechanism for freezing accounts, shares and property for unpaid taxes is being triggered for the first time, and according to the words of the Finance Minister, the entire operation is being monitored by the Prime Minister.

Tags: economic police freezing of accounts and real estate Greek crisis tax evasion VAT fraud
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