Criminal organization dismantled was dismantled – They had extorted 2.5 million euros

ELAS managed a key blow to many members criminal organization whose members are involved in cases fraud companies – businesses gaining illegal property benefit that exceeds 2,500,000 euros.

The data were identified 29 members of the organization.

According to police announcementthe many months, methodical and diligent investigation of police officers of the Security Directorate of Thessaloniki and specifically of the Department of Property Rights Protection, in collaboration with the Sub-Directorate for Organized Crime and Human Trafficking led to a major blow to the active criminal within the organization and in some cases voluntarily or with a different composition, are involved in cases of fraud of companies – enterprises in various regions of Greece.

In the context of the investigation of the case, the details of twenty-nine (29) members of the circuit (locals aged 29 to 65 years) were identified, against whom a case file was formed, as the case may be, for a criminal organization. forgery, embezzlement, fraud to the degree of a felony jointly, professionally and continuously, acceptance and distribution of proceeds of crime, breach of check law and money laundering.

According to the police investigation, the leaders of the criminal organization (3 leaders), established a total of nine (9) companies – formations (Sole Proprietorship Private Companies – M.I.K.E.) in the names of its members or used four ( 4) pre-existing companies and rented warehouses and offices in order to give prestige and create the image of healthy companies.

Subsequently, they were falsely presented as solvent in their financial transactions by members of the criminal organization with excellent knowledge of the prevailing situation in the market and the field of trade and thus created the imaginary sense of safe conditions and trading conditions and persuaded the suffering companies to come to terms with them.

Then, either by the use of postdated checks, which on the day of payment proved to be unsecured, or by the preparation and use of false bank receipts for the transfer of money, or by the assurance of payment of the value of the goods posted on subsequent orders – receipt of goods which would follow, extracting their products from other companies, without paying the price, which they then sold at attractive – lower prices to third parties, in order to immediately gain illegal property gain.

When the their illegal activity, during the period of appearance of the checks to be paid, where it was proved that they were uncovered, the perpetrators left the premises – offices that they had rented for their operation. Upon receipt of the goods from the affected companies, they were transported to other warehouses or for sale to third parties, using documents – delivery notes of other companies M.I.K.E. serving the purposes of that criminal organization, making it difficult to locate the goods they had seized.

With the above methodology, it turned out that during the period from February 2018 to at least November 2021, the criminal organization seized commercial products (mainly food and beverages) from (33) companies and a sum of money from (1) more companies, with the total illegal property gain that he has obtained amounts to the amount of (2,653,163.42) euros, causing them an equal financial loss. In addition, in two of the above affected companies an attempt was made to cause a total financial loss of (58,760) euros.

During the period of the police investigation, a total of (3) warehouses, (4) company offices, (3) cars, (5) houses, (18) supermarkets, as well as physical investigations of persons involved, during which they were found and confiscated:

• (62) tons and (575) kilos of potato seeds,
• (24,504) packaging of vinegar products,
• (3,043) bottles of alcoholic beverages
• as well as small quantities of ice cream raw material,
• products which were returned to the rightful owners.

In addition, the following were confiscated:

• (10) computers,
• (12) PC hard drives,
• (16) mobile phones,
• (1) tablet,
• other digital storage media, a number of relevant documents (invoices, delivery notes, checks, business cards, etc.), as well as stamps of various companies.

It is noted that three (3) of the members of the circuit have been arrested in the past by police officers of the Department for the Protection of Property Rights.

The relevant case file was submitted to the competent judicial authorities.

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