The Internal Affairs Service of the Security Forces proceeded to dismantle a criminal organization, consisting of tax officials and an accountant, who were active in facilitation, acts or omissions of procedures, tax authority, as well as extortion of businessmen, in order to receive illegal sums of money.

In order to dismantle the criminal organization, a police operation was carried out in Corfu on Thursday, in the context of which a total of 5 members were arrested, including 4 tax officials and 1 private accountant, while the case file includes 4 more people.

A case file was filed against them – as the case may be – for criminal organization, bribery and bribery of an employee, complicity in bribery, breach of duty and extortion by complicity.

According to ELAS, there was a previous complaint regarding the illegal action of two D.O.Y. employees, who, taking advantage of their position, demanded the sum of 60,000 euros from a businessman, in order to settle his pending case.

As pointed out in the relevant announcement, in the context of the investigation, the existence of a criminal organization emerged, with continuous action, a specific structure and distinct roles, in which D.O.Y. employees participated. Corfu and private accountant.

In particular, as it emerged, at least since May 2024, the members of the criminal organization were facilitating, omitting or performing procedures of fiscal authority contrary to their official duties as employees, as well as blackmailing businessmen, where, taking advantage of their status, they demanded money sums as a consideration, so that their tax outstandings are processed.

The demand for the money was made, primarily, through a private accountant, a member of the organization, in order to prevent the members-employees from having direct contact with their victims, while at the same time they took care to take special counter-monitoring measures both during their actions and against the communications between them.

According to ELAS, the leader of the organization was responsible for coordinating, receiving and distributing the sums of money to the other members, while he did not hesitate to threaten employees and accountants who might leak the organization’s activity. At the same time, he ensured appropriate information about counter-surveillance methods, so that the operational members of the organization would feel unpersecuted, during the -on his order- the targeted controls they were carrying out.

Furthermore, the other tax officials were essential for the operation of the organization, as due to their duties they either exercised direct supervision and control over the other employees, thus determining the speed and manner of processing the cases, or carried out on-the-spot audits of businesses at the command of the headquarters member.

Finally, the accountant was an intermediary between the employees and the taxpayers, charged with the direct contact and communication between the Auditing Authority and the auditees. Also, according to his role, he received and delivered sums of money from the taxpayers to the employees, himself ensuring preferential treatment of his clients from the D.O.Y.

From the searches carried out in houses, vehicles, other places as well as from the possession of the accused, among others, the following were found and confiscated:

• 42,480 euros in total,

• $1,770

• mobile phones, agendas and tax documents.

So far it has been established that, since the end of May 2024, the criminal organization has been involved in 8 cases, while it has been established that its members demanded a total of at least 183,000 euros and managed to receive at least 38,000 euros .

Those arrested were taken to the competent Prosecutor’s Office, where they were referred to an investigator and given a deadline to apologize.