Suspected scrap metal racketeers remanded pending trial

Eleven suspects, including eight employees of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), were remanded pending trial on Tuesday over charges that they ran a scrap metal racket.

According to investigators, the gang is responsible for costing OSE some 7 million euros by paying off the eight workers in the company to rig competitions for the sale of OSE recyclable materials to the heads of the racket, two scrap metal dealers.

The OSE employees received as much as 40,000 euros in one transaction to tip a competition in favor of their cohorts, who channeled the material through three scrap companies in the cities of Thessaloniki, Volos and Lamia, according to investigators. The transactions were allegedly carried out via Cypriot and Bulgarian banks.

The racket also caused damages to OSE by deliberately misreporting the volume of the material the dealers were taking charge of.

All 11 suspects denied the accusations leveled against them. Another eight suspects have been released on bail.