The case of the construction company that allegedly declared annual turnover of just three euros, before being found to have millions in undeclared revenue, is more than a striking audit finding. It signals the start of a new generation of checks by AADE, Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, aimed at detecting sophisticated tax evasion schemes, false turnover declarations and undeclared commissions through new methods of cross-checking data from classified ads and real estate websites.

It also shows how the economy has moved from the “survival tax evasion” of the bailout years to tax evasion driven by greed, with some taxpayers accumulating substantial wealth while declaring incomes at levels associated with absolute poverty.

The key issue, however, is not only the amount involved, but the method used to uncover it. Audit mechanisms are no longer limited to invoices, receipt books and conventional complaints. They now connect data from contracts, corporate filings, online listings, real estate agency profiles and bank transactions. In this way, a property that appears to be changing hands or being advertised at a particular price can also reveal the real commission that should have been declared.

The ‘black market’ dominates

In the Cyclades, especially in markets such as Mykonos, the problem becomes more complex. Rising demand, intense pressure on prices and the frequent presence of foreign buyers create conditions in which traditional tax audit practices are no longer sufficient to detect concealed income.

This is where the new approach comes in: digital cross-checks, real estate data, brokerage networks and the shift from conventional tax inspections to more technologically advanced systems. Perhaps not coincidentally, in two months’ time, the General Directorate of e-Governance at AADE, which has spent the past decade sifting through data through cross-checks, is being upgraded into a Directorate of Digital Audits.

Using AI models, the Finance Ministry and audit authorities are adapting to the way the market now operates. Since transactions are conducted online, listings are publicly visible and intermediaries leave digital traces, AADE can use myDATA, Greece’s electronic bookkeeping platform, to identify where tax evasion is likely taking place before an audit team is even sent out to impose fines.

The old model is changing. The focus is shifting from isolated audits to the mapping of entire networks and patterns of fraud and tax evasion. Inevitably, the real estate sector, currently enjoying a boom that has benefited builders, estate agents, suppliers, shell companies and other tax evasion specialists, is now coming under closer scrutiny.