Two more businessmen were arrested this week in Athens because of unpaid debts to the state. The first is 72-year-old Leon Lewis, who owns the Bodyline chain of beauty and slimming studios. The second is 47-year-old George Petzedakis. He is the head of Petzetakis S.A. – a company producing pipes and plastic products for construction and agriculture. They are a small part of a long list of debtors who cannot cover unpaid taxes.
Since 2007, Petzetakis S.A. has had about € 1.2 million outstanding corporate tax. Together with the penalty interest, the amount has reached € 2.1 million. The father of the detainee founded the company in 1967. It has offices in eight countries, a production capacity of 160,000 tons per year and about 1,500 employees. The first collapse of the company came with the global financial crisis of 2008, when orders fell dramatically and the company suddenly found itself with huge debts and no revenue. The economic crisis in Greece has dealt the final blow and now, the rules of Article 99 of the bankruptcy code apply to the company.
Two years ago, the head and owner of the company decided to take advantage of the opportunity to repay the amount due in instalments, but he failed to make the payments on time. This is crucial to the prosecution and prosecutor Nikos Antonarakos has issued an order for the detention of the businessman. At the same time, about 100 workers in the factory in Northern Greece stopped working because they have not received salaries for 13 months now.
The same prosecutor has ordered the arrest of the owner of Bodyline Leon Lewis, who owes the state € 650,000. According to the charges, the amount due comprises unpaid VAT and other tax liabilities. The businessman is not able to settle the payment and he is waiting for the investigation in the coming days. Nikos Antonarakos has a list of 12 other businessmen. They will face detention if they do not meet their obligations. The arrests are expected to continue next week.
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