The first finding after the thorough investigations into taxpayers who illegally received money through subsidies from OPEKEPE will be presented today at noon by the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis.

According to reports, the conclusion will concern about 500 TINs, mostly of natural persons.

According to the same information, these are taxpayers who were found to have illegally received subsidies €20 million – that is, €30,000 to €40,000 each on average.

These taxpayers will be asked to return the money they received when they were not entitled to it, prosecutions will be brought, and there will be a “freezing” of accounts according to the commitment made publicly by both Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the minister responsible for rural development, Kostas Tsiaras.

This development, as protothema.gr has written, is the result of the intensification of controls by the Authority for Money Laundering (Authority for Combating Money Laundering) and the “Greek FBI”, i.e. the Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime (DAOE). The supervising prosecutor of the agency signed successive asset freezing orders in the previous period, putting on ice any possible source of illegal enrichment of those involved.

The IAEA’s investigation began with bank accounts in Greece and abroad and reached as far as safe deposit boxes that might be hiding cash or valuables. Luxury cars such as Porsche Cayennes and hybrid Mercedes that testify to a lavish life are also being investigated, to investments in stocks, mutual funds and cryptocurrencies that may act as a “haven” for black money with amounts ranging from 25,000 euros to outrageous figures of up to 2 million.

Geographically, the investigations extend almost all over the country, from Chalkida to Crete, proving that the ring had spread its tentacles to every corner of the country. The aim is to identify not only the main protagonists, but also the minor players who acted as “auxiliary links” in the money trail.