Latest news with #EPPO
The Sun
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Greece replaces minister after resignation over EU subsidy scandal
ATHENS: Greece's government on Saturday said it had replaced Makis Voridis a day after the migration minister resigned over claims he defrauded European farm subsidies while holding the agriculture brief. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said in a statement that Thanos Plevris, a former minister of health and former member of the Greek far-right LAOS party, will be sworn in on Monday to replace Voridis. Voridis's resignation came a week after the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) sent a case file to the parliament in Athens to investigate the alleged involvement of two former ministers in Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government in the misappropriation of EU funds. Voridis, a government heavy hitter, was agricultural development minister between 2019 and 2021 before being handed the migration portfolio in January. In his resignation letter, he said he had 'committed no wrongdoing' and had opted to resign following a request by the opposition PASOK socialist party to set up a parliament committee to probe the allegations. 'Being a suspect in a criminal act is not compatible with the status of a member of government,' Voridis told Mitsotakis, who accepted his resignation. Voridis's political career has not been without controversy: in 1994 he founded the far-right Hellenic Front, whose slogan at the time was 'a red card for illegal migrants'. In 2005, he joined the nationalist LAOS party, representing them in parliament from 2007 before moving to Mitsotakis's conservative New Democracy movement from 2012. Greek media reported that the second former agricultural development minister in the European investigation is Lefteris Avgenakis, who was in the role from 2023 to last year and is also an ND lawmaker. At the end of May, investigators conducted a search at the Athens offices of the Greek subsidy agency OPEKEPE and seized documents and electronic equipment. They then indicated that 'a significant number' of people had gained payment rights between 2019 and 2022, mainly by falsely claiming public land.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
European prosecutors raid networks importing illegal Chinese goods
June 26 (UPI) -- European prosecutors on Thursday announced raids in multiple nations targeting criminal networks importing fraudulent Chinese goods. The European Public Prosecutor's Office said the 101 raids conducted in Bulgaria, Greece, France, and Spain on Wednesday as part of an investigation codenamed "Calypso" led to the arrests of 10 suspects and the seizure of $6 million in various currencies. The raids also seized 7,133 e-bikes and 3,696 e-scooters, 11 properties in Spain, 27 vehicles and luxury items such as bags, watches and jewelry. The EPPO said the scheme started with goods from China into the EU through the port of Piraeus, Greece in order to evade invoices using false documents to conceal the value of the merchandise. The goods are sold to companies in specific Member states, where they are supposed to be sold on the market. After the goods enter the EU, they are stored in a criminal organization-controlled warehouse. From there, they are transported, using false documents, to France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The documents are destroyed when the goods are delivered and then sold on the black market. An additional 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus were also seized. The EPPO alleged the scheme caused an estimated $800 million in damages. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
2 days ago
- UPI
European prosecutors raid networks importing illegal Chinese goods
The European Public Prosecutor's Office said it struck down a $800 million criminal scheme involving Chinese Imports coming through the port of Piraeus. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo June 26 (UPI) -- European prosecutors on Thursday announced raids in multiple nations targeting criminal networks importing fraudulent Chinese goods. The European Public Prosecutor's Office said the 101 raids conducted in Bulgaria, Greece, France, and Spain on Wednesday as part of an investigation codenamed "Calypso" led to the arrests of 10 suspects and the seizure of $6 million in various currencies. The raids also seized 7,133 e-bikes and 3,696 e-scooters, 11 properties in Spain, 27 vehicles and luxury items such as bags, watches and jewelry. The EPPO said the scheme started with goods from China into the EU through the port of Piraeus, Greece in order to evade invoices using false documents to conceal the value of the merchandise. The goods are sold to companies in specific Member states, where they are supposed to be sold on the market. After the goods enter the EU, they are stored in a criminal organization-controlled warehouse. From there, they are transported, using false documents, to France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The documents are destroyed when the goods are delivered and then sold on the black market. An additional 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus were also seized. The EPPO alleged the scheme caused an estimated $800 million in damages.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU prosecutors uncover criminal scheme involving Chinese imports via Greece
(Reuters) -European prosecutors have uncovered a criminal scheme involving false documentation of Chinese imports to Europe through the Greek port of Piraeus that defrauded authorities of about 700 million euros ($820 million) in lost customs duties and VAT revenue. The investigation carried out by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) spans 14 EU countries and involved raids in Greece, Spain, France and Bulgaria, the EPPO said in a statement on Thursday. Ten suspects were arrested, including two customs officers during more than 100 searches conducted at the offices of customs brokers and other locations on Wednesday. Law enforcement agents seized thousands of e-bikes and e-scooters, as well as 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus, with freezing orders issued to seize real estate, boats and bank accounts. Some 5.8 million euros in different currencies were seized, including 4.75 million euros in Greece, as well as several firearms and other weapons seized in the houses of three of the suspects. Eleven properties in Spain were also seized, as well as 27 vehicles and luxury items, the EPPO said. The EPPO said the scheme involved several criminal networks mainly controlled by Chinese nationals who handled Chinese imports into the EU, their distribution and sales, as well as money laundering and sending the profits back to China, the EPPO said. After the goods from China arrive in the EU, mainly through the port of Piraeus, they are undervalued or misclassified to evade custom duties, cleared by customs brokers and sold to companies in other EU states through the scheme designed to avoid the VAT payment, the EPPO said. It added that the criminal organisations under investigation produce the false invoices and transport documents to conceal the real destination of the goods, and recruit a network of sham companies that sell the products at very competitive prices, since VAT remains unpaid and customs duties and anti-dumping fees are largely evaded. ($1 = 0.8541 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
EU prosecutors uncover criminal scheme involving Chinese imports via Greece
FILE PHOTO: A view of the container terminal of the Piraeus port, in Perama suburb of Piraeus, Greece January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki/File Photo European prosecutors have uncovered a criminal scheme involving false documentation of Chinese imports to Europe through the Greek port of Piraeus that defrauded authorities of about 700 million euros ($820 million) in lost customs duties and VAT revenue. The investigation carried out by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) spans 14 EU countries and involved raids in Greece, Spain, France and Bulgaria, the EPPO said in a statement on Thursday. Ten suspects were arrested, including two customs officers during more than 100 searches conducted at the offices of customs brokers and other locations on Wednesday. Law enforcement agents seized thousands of e-bikes and e-scooters, as well as 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus, with freezing orders issued to seize real estate, boats and bank accounts. Some 5.8 million euros in different currencies were seized, including 4.75 million euros in Greece, as well as several firearms and other weapons seized in the houses of three of the suspects. Eleven properties in Spain were also seized, as well as 27 vehicles and luxury items, the EPPO said. The EPPO said the scheme involved several criminal networks mainly controlled by Chinese nationals who handled Chinese imports into the EU, their distribution and sales, as well as money laundering and sending the profits back to China, the EPPO said. After the goods from China arrive in the EU, mainly through the port of Piraeus, they are undervalued or misclassified to evade custom duties, cleared by customs brokers and sold to companies in other EU states through the scheme designed to avoid the VAT payment, the EPPO said. It added that the criminal organisations under investigation produce the false invoices and transport documents to conceal the real destination of the goods, and recruit a network of sham companies that sell the products at very competitive prices, since VAT remains unpaid and customs duties and anti-dumping fees are largely evaded. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
