A major operation by Greece’s organised crime police has been under way since Sunday morning, targeting the Choriatiko bakery chain over an alleged tax fraud scheme involving millions of euros.

According to information obtained by Protothema, officers from the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, commonly known as the Greek FBI, have arrested the chain’s owner, Angelos Giannakopoulos.

Among those detained is an accountant believed to have played a significant role in the structure of the alleged criminal organisation. The same sources indicate that further arrests are expected in the coming days.

Police sources said Giannakopoulos had been staying in Dubai in recent weeks, forcing investigators to postpone the operation to arrest him on several occasions. Officers eventually detained him on Sunday, shortly after his return to Greece.

Choriatiko operates dozens of bakeries across the Attica region and other parts of Greece, including the city of Volos, through a combination of company-owned outlets and franchises.

A criminal past: Human trafficking, money laundering and a prison sentence

Giannakopoulos has a history of involvement in serious criminal cases. He was arrested in 2010 as the alleged mastermind of a major human trafficking network and was convicted at first instance in 2015.

The trafficking ring, which was uncovered in 2010, was dismantled following an investigation involving Interpol, the Greek Security Police and the National Intelligence Service (EYP).

The organisation brought women to Greece, primarily from Eastern European countries including Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, and exploited them in well-known Athens nightclubs linked to Giannakopoulos.

The women entered Greece on tourist visas before being forced to work as dancers and engage in prostitution. According to the case against the network, its members used violence or threatened the women with substantial debts supposedly incurred during their journeys to Greece to coerce them into sexual exploitation.

In 2015, Giannakopoulos was sentenced at first instance to 10 years and six months in prison for participation in a criminal organisation, professional human trafficking and laundering proceeds from criminal activities.

Another 15 people, including managers, accountants and associates, were convicted alongside him.

A significant finding in the court’s reasoning was that the substantial profits generated by strip clubs had been systematically laundered through investments in the then-expanding bakery chain, with the aim of making the proceeds of the criminal activities appear legitimate.

Despite his conviction, Giannakopoulos lodged an appeal that suspended enforcement of his sentence.

He was subsequently released after posting substantial bail amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros and was placed under restrictive conditions pending his appeal hearing.

The case was later heard by a five-member Criminal Court of Appeal.

During the appeal proceedings, several defendants had their sentences reduced, while some charges became time-barred following changes to the legal framework. These developments allowed some of those involved to remain at liberty, although their business activities and judicial histories continued to attract close scrutiny from the authorities.

Giannakopoulos’s name also surfaced in a separate criminal investigation in 2025 involving arrested associates of the notorious criminal known as Edik, or “The Voice”.

In that case, the businessman was allegedly the victim of an extortion racket whose members demanded payments of approximately €200,000 a month in exchange for protection.

According to the allegations, gang members threatened to plant explosives at, or set fire to, businesses he owned in Athens and Mykonos unless he complied with their demands.