The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) has identified these 200 individuals and has already begun examining their tax returns in comparison to the large sums they were gambling.

The chairman of the Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority, former Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Charalampos Vourliotis, has shut down the channels used to launder illicit funds through betting companies that operate legally but were being used to clean large amounts of dirty money.

Each gambler reportedly played and transferred amounts ranging from €100 up to €1,000,000. Among them were high-ranking public officials, including directors of ministries and public services, who could not justify the large sums they gambled through legal betting companies in sports betting.

The Scope of the Investigation

The Authority has focused on approximately 200 gamblers who, under the guise of legality, were using about 10 systematic betting companies to wager amounts reaching €1 million. These sums were effectively being used to launder illicit funds.

The Authority has already started cross-checking these individuals’ tax filings against the large amounts they gambled.

How the Network Operated

The network was uncovered after months of investigation by specialized staff at the Authority, ultimately closing a major loophole that allowed criminal circuits to launder dirty money through legal betting. The laundering was conducted via roughly ten systemic betting companies that used agents or cash collectors who had no connection to the financial or gambling sector—such as convenience stores, mini-markets, and gas stations.

Players would deposit cash of unknown origin with these agents. The funds were first placed in gaming accounts and then transferred to personal bank accounts, giving them a veneer of legality.

Specifically, players would first open an account with a licensed online betting company and receive a unique code that allowed them to deposit funds directly into that account.

Next, they would visit the stores acting as agents for these betting companies (convenience stores, mini-markets, etc.) and hand over cash, which would be credited to their gaming account using the unique code.

The player could then transfer the account balance—including funds of unknown origin—to their legally declared bank account. This process effectively laundered suspicious funds, as the deposits were made in cash.

In other words, these supposedly “gaming” funds were mixed with the gamblers’ legitimate funds in bank accounts, credit cards, etc., and appeared as normal gaming activity, which in reality was just a façade.

The Authority has informed the “Hellenic Gaming Supervisory Committee,” which oversees and regulates gambling activities, about this gaming practice that facilitates money laundering, so that it can take appropriate action.