Civil servant racketeering gang unraveled
Police 14 state employees who extorted or aided catering businesses, hotels to violate the law
Police have unraveled a criminal gang of people employed in the civil service that extorted or aided catering establishments and hotels to skirt the law, for building permits, the use of tables and seating and other illegalities.
The police investigation identified 47 cases of illegal activity and arrested 14 people. According to estimates, the gang had been active since at least January 2023, making more than 700,000 euros per year.
The gang’s members included employees of the municipal police, state building and health services, and an official of the Culture Ministry’s Modern Monuments Department, the alleged leader.
The actions of the civil servants were investigated after a complaint was sent to the Internal Affairs Department last April. The anonymous author claimed to be a businessman in the center of Athens with a restaurant business.
“For some time now, some municipal police officers have been making life difficult for my colleagues and friends, blackmailing them to earn a living,” he wrote. According to him, two municipal police officers would conduct targeted checks, find violations, and, before a new inspection was carried out, the gang would ask for money to mediate with relevant authorities.
The alleged leader of the group was a 43-year-old woman called Nancy who had managed to make contacts in every public service linked with licensing and inspections of catering businesses.
Nancy, who has a long criminal record for fraud, would either blackmail proprietors or be the go-to person who, for a hefty fee, would help businessmen avoid an inspection, have a case against them shelved or ensure that they maintained tables and chairs in spaces beyond legal limits.
Several of the businessmen who dealt with the gang owned shops or hotels under construction in the center of Athens and in island regions, and had to obtain permits to proceed with construction work.
According to the case file, the 43-year-old was drawing up false certificates and attempting “to exert undue influence on members of local councils” to allow the owners of the buildings to carry out the work they wanted. It is alleged that she received between 6,000 and 10,000 euro per case.
