Thessaloniki: 34 companies were deceived – Their booty is over 2.6 million euros

Thirty-four companies in various parts of the country – mainly food and beverage traders – seem to have suffered a loss of 2.6 million euros, falling into the “nets” of a multi-member circuit, which through companies (“showcases”) bought their products, with unsecured checks or counterfeit bank transfers, and resold them at competitive prices.

The case involves 29 people, including three leading members of the alleged criminal organization, as announced by EL.AS. A case was filed against them, on a case-by-case basis, for criminal organization, forgery, embezzlement, fraud, acceptance and distribution of crime proceeds, violation of checks legislation and money laundering.

It was preceded by a multi-month investigation of the Department for the Protection of Property Rights of the Security of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Sub-Directorate for Organized Crime and Trafficking in Human Beings. According to a statement, the police investigation revealed that the three leaders of the criminal organization had established a total of nine companies – formations (Single Private Private Capital Companies – MIKE) in the names of its members or used four pre-existing companies to rent warehouses and offices. prestige and create the image of healthy business.

By presenting these companies as financially solvent, with an excellent knowledge of the market and trade situation, the alleged members of the criminal group created in the suffering businessmen a “fictitious sense of the existence of safe conditions and trading conditions” by persuading them to “deal 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 obtained in 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 benefit “, it is pointed out in an announcement of EL.AS.

During the period when the checks were to be paid and it was revealed that they were uncovered, the perpetrators seemed to leave the premises-offices they had rented for their operation, transporting the goods to other warehouses or selling them to third parties, using documents- consignment notes of other MIKEs that served their purposes. In these circumstances it became difficult to locate the goods they had seized.

According to the police investigation, from February 2018 until at least November 2021, the circuit allegedly extracted commercial products (mainly food and beverages) from 33 companies and a sum of money from another company, gaining a property benefit amounting to 2,653 .163.42 euros, (this amount is the loss for the affected companies).

During the police investigation, searches were carried out -among other things- in three warehouses, four offices, 18 shops (supermarkets), while potato seed over 62 tons, almost 25,000 packages of vinegar product, 3000 bottles of alcoholic beverages and small quantities of ice cream raw materials, products returned to their rightful owners. At the same time, computers, computer hard drives, mobile phones, digital storage media, a number of documents such as invoices, delivery notes, checks, business cards and stamps of various companies were confiscated.

The case file has been submitted to the competent judicial authorities and in the near future the persons involved will be called to account.

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