Former figures from the Greek national football and basketball teams are under investigation in a massive tax fraud case, with estimated losses of 225 million dollars, causing debts to the Greek state amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, according to a statement published on Tuesday.
Police files showed that Pantelis Kafes, a member of the Greek football team that won the European Cup in 2004, and Panayiotis Liadelis, a former basketball star, are among those under investigation, while none of the athletes were subject to arrest warrants.
In the same context, the Greek police stated that it would issue international arrest warrants against some suspects believed to have fled the country, noting that around 20 people were arrested in connection with the investigation during the past week.
For his part, a statement issued by the Independent Public Revenue Authority revealed that a wide network of individuals, fronts, and fake companies accumulated more than 225 million dollars in unpaid taxes and social contributions over the past three years.
Investigations indicated that the criminal network used nominal directors, who were cancer patients, to represent more than 2,000 fake companies, some of which ended up bankrupt without paying the due taxes.
Sources added that the network was linked to more than 2,000 companies, including nightclubs in the city of Thessaloniki and the northern Chalkidiki peninsula, one of the country's most prominent tourist destinations.
Constantia Demoglou, a police spokesperson, told the official television "ERT" that the companies were effectively opened and closed at the point where they began accumulating debts owed to the Greek state.
The investigations continue to reveal details of the criminal network that exploited legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes, leading to significant losses in the public treasury.
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
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