A major investigation in Thessaloniki and Halkidiki has uncovered one of the largest suspected tax evasion cases in the history of Greece’s judiciary. So far, 16 people have been arrested, while the case file includes 1,283 suspects and 917 companies.
After a lengthy investigation, the extensive case file was handed over to the Thessaloniki Public Prosecutor’s Office on November 7, 2026. The investigation is still ongoing, and the authorities have not ruled out further arrests. According to information published by the Greek media outlet “Zougla,” the number of arrests could reach as many as 50.
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Of the 917 companies under investigation, 860 are found to have confirmed debts to the state and social security funds. The total amount of the debts comes to €206,269,437.
This total includes €138 million in unpaid tax liabilities, as well as more than €68 million in contributions that were not paid into the EFKA social security fund.
Well-known business figures linked to a significant number of venues and nightclubs in Thessaloniki appear in the investigation materials. One of them is businessman Ilias Violidhis, who is suspected of controlling a large number of businesses in the city.
According to the case file, Violidhis and his 81-year-old mother owned 17 companies. The liabilities of these companies are estimated at around €4.68 million.
Investigators have identified a suspected scheme involving the transfer of economic activity to new companies, which was detected at 14 premium properties in Thessaloniki. Once the businesses became burdened with debt, they were transferred to other companies, where the 81-year-old mother was presented as the principal shareholder, while management was entrusted to other individuals.
According to the case file, the new companies used the same telephone number and the same email address, both directly linked to the businessman.
Entrepreneurs Konstantinos Bertakis and Theodoros Pozidis are also included in the investigation. They are linked to two of Thessaloniki’s best-known night venues, Pylí Axiou and VOG Club. Investigation documents show that the liabilities of the businesses connected to them amount to around €6.7 million.
Investigators suspect that these venues operated through a series of temporary companies registered in other people’s names, who served only as nominal administrators.
The owners of the premises stated that they negotiated directly with the two businessmen over the leases and the operation of the venues. Testimony also refers to the way staff were paid: artists and employees received cash, placed in envelopes that were left in kitchen drawers.
The brothers Marios and Markellos Muratidi are also named in the case file. They owned 25 companies, which had accumulated liabilities of around €3.24 million.
According to the investigation, through a real estate company, the brothers rented seven properties where restaurants and nightclubs operated in Thessaloniki and the surrounding areas. The premises were then sublet to companies registered under different names.
The suspected scheme provided that when a company accumulated substantial debts, it was closed and immediately replaced by another company. The business continued at the same address and with the same staff, while the company name and administrator changed.
Another person identified in the case file is businessman Vasilios Varsamis. Investigators suspect that he had established a network of at least 25 businesses and used six property management companies to lease 12 premises to companies registered in other people’s names.
In this case too, the documents show that debt-laden companies were closed and a new entity was created on the same day to continue the business. In an unusual development, the businessman himself appeared in the ERGANI employment system as a receptionist, doorman or office worker.
Another element of the investigation is the use of people with minimal incomes as company administrators. According to the case file, a woman who worked as a cleaner and earned a monthly salary of €481 was listed as administrator of 12 companies. These companies had accumulated debts of €1.26 million.
The woman stated that between 2022 and 2025 she had received €1,000 solely to sign documents. Meanwhile, a waitress is listed as administrator of 16 companies with liabilities of €3.31 million, while a doorman is registered with eight companies carrying debts of €3.6 million.
A kitchen worker who also received social welfare benefits is listed as administrator of 13 companies. According to the investigation, these companies caused the state to incur liabilities of more than €30 million. The list of people used in the scheme also includes a meat roaster, a cleaner, a cashier and a shellfish farmer.
The investigation also revealed that the names of 12 deceased people were allegedly used to administer companies. Checks in the myDATA electronic system showed that their personal tax identification numbers continued to register incoming and outgoing invoices months or years after their deaths.
One of these individuals is linked to liabilities amounting to €14.8 million. The case file also mentions former Greek model and actor Errikos Petilon, who is suspected of having been used as a nominal administrator in eight companies.
These eight companies had total liabilities of €595,976. According to the published data, in recent years Petilon reported annual income of between €2,000 and €2,500 and appeared as a part-time receptionist.
Since March 1, 2023, he has been listed as an administrator and partner in several companies linked to the network. According to reports, he was paid between €200 and €700 per month for this engagement.
The investigation is also connected to a highly prominent businessman in Thessaloniki’s nightlife scene, who is suspected of being one of the scheme’s key figures but managed to avoid arrest. According to reports, he was notified by telephone before the authorities’ operation and left in order to avoid being taken into custody.
The authorities are trying to determine who informed the businessman and whether the person who warned him had access to tax administration data. His wife, meanwhile, was arrested.
Her lawyer, Antonis Koudroglou, stated that his client had no connection to the tax evasion scheme. According to him, the arrest was linked solely to the discovery of an antique weapon during a search of the home and not to involvement in criminal activity.
Koudroglou, who represents several of the accused, warned that the full publication of the names involved could cause shockwaves in Thessaloniki’s entertainment industry. He said that very well-known business figures in the city had been mentioned during the preliminary stage of the investigation.
The Greek authorities are continuing their efforts to uncover the entire suspected structure, identify the people behind the companies and determine each individual’s responsibility. The scale of the case file, the number of people and companies involved, and the liabilities amounting to hundreds of millions of euros make this one of the largest economic investigations in Greece.
