Photographs documenting the locations where members of an extortion ring operating within the Municipality of Athens were active have been obtained and presented by protothema.gr.

The revealing images show that the defendants wrapped the money in magazines, newspapers, and paper towels, which they placed in cardboard boxes, labeling them with the total amount and the denomination of the banknotes.

The group, led by Nancy, had the organized structure of a criminal organization, with specific roles such as “brains,” “cashier,” “collector,” and driver, providing “protection” to shopkeepers in the capital and extorting money from them without any services in return. A months-long investigation by the Internal Affairs Service led to the dismantling of the criminal network and resulted in 14 arrests.

See photos:

Among the 14 arrested were an employee of the Municipal Police Department of Athens, an employee of the Building Department, an employee of the Department of Modern Monuments and Technical Works of Attica, Eastern Central Greece, and the Cyclades, employees of the Directorate of Sanitary Control and Environmental Hygiene of the Regional Unit of the Central Sector of Athens, and an employee of the Directorate of Sanitary Control and Environmental Hygiene of the Regional Unit of the Northern Sector of Athens. Two private individuals, one from Argyroupoli and one from Athens, are identified as the “brains” of the organization.

The case file reportedly includes nine additional civil servants who were aiding the criminal organization without having permanent roles, and thus were not arrested during the initial crackdown.

Long pleas for the remaining six defendants – Nancy denies the charges

At the same time, the apologies of the last six defendants before the corruption investigator for the criminal organization that operated in Athens and other areas, extorting owners of restaurants to give them money in order to escape the certification of violations by the municipal police are marathon.

The 43-year-old Nancy, who is alleged to be a leading member of the ring, is expected to be the last to cross the threshold of the interrogation office today to apologize. She will reportedly deny the serious charges against her and claim that she made simple “arrangements” by helping shopkeepers avoid fines and penalties for any offences. The accused is also said to contend that none of the businessmen the indictment accuses her of extorting has given a statement against her.

Today before the investigating in addition to the 43-year-old woman, her brother who allegedly had a role as a collector in the organization, another man who is also accused of playing a leading role, and three other defendants were in the interrogation room. The proceedings, however, are expected to last for many more hours, as after the defendants’ apologies have been taken (five of the accused have apologized so far and the 43-year-old woman’s apology is expected to start in a few hours), a conference of the investigator and the prosecutor will follow to decide their further criminal treatment, i.e. whether or not they will be remanded in custody.

It should be noted that yesterday eight of the accused were brought to the courts of the former Evellipidon school to apologize with the investigator and prosecutor, after a marathon procedure, to remand two of them in custody and release the remaining six with the imposition of restrictive conditions of prohibition to leave the country and appearance at a police station.

The 14 so far accused are facing seven felonies and two misdemeanors, which, among other things, involve the formation and membership of a criminal organization, extortion by threat and damage to a business in a professional capacity, jointly and severally, bribery of an official in a professional capacity in a serial manner, and false certification for an amount of more than 120,000 euros.

The evidence contained in the case file is numerous and reflects the structured action of the group of extortionists of businessmen in the restaurant industry. From this evidence it is clear that the two managers of the criminal group approached employees in public services responsible for the control of health establishments, hotels and construction work, in order to join the criminal organisation, which thus acquired a reach to develop its illegal activities. Furthermore, according to the indictment, the action of the organization seems to be determined from January 2023 until its dismantling on July 5, 2024.

The case was solved by the Internal Affairs Service of the National Police, which after an investigation uncovered the multi-member gang of private individuals, municipal officials and employees of other public services.

In particular, from the hearing of the telephone conversations of the 14 arrested, it emerged that members of the organization had been recruited for the organization, members from public services, as well as from the Service of Modern Monuments of the Ministry of Culture. In fact, two of those involved, who worked in the Ministry of Culture, were members of PASOK and their party status has already been suspended. The authorities’ investigations are continuing for the arrest of nine more persons.

How the organisation was “unmasked”

“The situation has reached the breaking point,” the businessman from central Athens wrote in his complaint in April, describing a lady who introduces herself as Nancy, who tells shopkeepers that she can mediate so that their business is not sealed, but it is understood that she does so without compensation. Investigations revealed that 43-year-old Nancy, who is appearing before the magistrate today with the other seven co-defendants, played a leading role in the organisation.

The accused, originally from Patras, who had been arrested twice more in the past for committing felonies, coordinated the ring with her mother and brother being her confidants in safeguarding the black money. Specifically, the defendant’s brother would receive the money from the shopkeepers and then hide it in their mother’s house. Some other amounts were distributed to the civil servants and members of the organization.

In cases where shopkeepers and hoteliers did not agree to join the organization’s protection, their managers threatened that their businesses would be re-inspected and that they would be charged with violations. The bribes to public officials were either made outdoors, so as to appear random, or indoors where they would be impossible to be seen, such as in shop toilets and cars, and they kept watch for any “suspicious” people.