Millions in VAT fraud - Football club owner was mastermind - I have no connection, claims TV producer
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
The involvement of dozens of people in the case of illegal VAT refunds through fictitious invoices is being investigated by the Greek FBI, which has already made 17 arrests, including the alleged ringleader of the ring, president of the Acharnaikos football team, Aris Eliadis. The central figure in the case, however, is also said to be the owner of a football club. However, according to reliable information, among the people being investigated as the recipient of fictitious invoices worth almost 1.5 million euros is Nikos Koklonis, who is expected to be summoned for explanations by the police. The television producer, in a statement, claims that he has nothing to do with the case.
Specifically, when asked by ontime24.gr, Nikos Koklonis said: “I have nothing to do with virtual invoices or any tax problem. My company and I have been audited countless times and we are ready to be audited again. All invoices that have been issued for our companies are legal transactions, signed by certified accountants, and can be proven at any time.”
Referring specifically to his connection with Iliadis, Koklonis claimed that the only relationship with the President of Acharnaikos concerns a company that had undertaken construction work for the studios where the programs Fame Story and TV Queen were filmed. “It was just construction – walls, cables – that are still there on the second floor of our office,” he explained, emphasizing that nothing else connects him or his companies to the circuit.
At the same time, the Greek FBI officials handling the case are decoding the full operation of the ring that "spent" millions of euros through illegal VAT refunds. According to information, approximately 350 transactions have been made and approximately 310 have already been cross-checked by ELAS officials.
The members of the ring are alleged to have made more than 350 fictitious transactions for which they illegally received VAT refunds of more than 4.5 million euros.
Essentially, those involved were issuing invoices for alleged transactions and then illegally receiving the VAT refund, since the transaction was not real. According to information, the organization was preparing to receive another 3.7 million, while in the past its members attempted to collect around 12 million, but they canceled it after realizing that they would be audited.
The "brains" of the ring is the president of a local team
The president of the Acharnaikos team, which competes in amateur championships, appears as the leader of the team, while 16 more people have been arrested in the case, including the brother of the football player, accountants, stooges, workers and others.
It is also worth noting that most of the companies involved were based in Attica and were supposedly engaged in providing accounting advice.
At least 500,000 euros in cash have been seized.
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