More than 14.3 million euros hidden in asset declarations, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority reveals

More than 14.3 million euros were hidden in asset declarations (póthen éskhes) during the five-year period 2021–2025, according to a specialised investigation by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, as ProtoThema reports in a report published today. The Authority carried out specialised checks and identified “hundreds of cases” of inaccurate or blank asset declarations, as well as cases where the declaration had not been submitted at all.

The method used breaks down into three categories, according to ProtoThema’s reporting. First, the inaccurate declarations: the declared income was lower than the real income, with a hidden total exceeding 1.5 million euros. Second, the blank declarations: the hidden wealth exceeded 11 million euros in total. Third, the cases where the declaration had not been submitted at all: in the most significant cases, the hidden amount “far exceeded” 1.8 million euros.

The Authority is headed by Charalambos Vourliotis, a former deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos). As ProtoThema writes, all the cases were referred to the country’s competent prosecutors’ offices, while the findings of the check will also be sent to the Court of Audit, so that the undeclared amounts can be assessed. The article does not mention fines imposed, nor the names of the persons investigated.