Property scam ties cyprus with greek criminal ring

Evidence linking Cyprus to an allegedly active criminal ring in Greece has come to light...

According to reports from Greece, the ring includes judges, civil engineers and land registry employees who allegedly engaged in activities that cost the Greek state millions in lost earnings from lost tax.

The group is suspected of claiming properties that were due to be auctioned off by banks to recover debts. They succeeded in doing so by presenting forged papers showing they had legal rights on the property or claimed that they were also owed money and had first rights on the properties.

Suspicious court rulings have led the Greek authorities to believe there are judges involved as well, although it was not clear if the judges had been coerced or were in on the scam. The ring is thought to have created almost 200 companies that served as fronts, with two of those believed to have been registered in Cyprus.

Greek authorities have been working on the case for the past year, police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos commented: " I was informed that for a year now, the Greek police have been investigating information that a ring has been operating, involved in illegal property transactions, secret auctions and even suspicious court rulings," said Katsounotos.

What can be said is that this ring, in the frame of its illegal activities, seems to have created a number of offshore companies abroad and it has been mentioned that two such companies have been operating in Cyprus."

Source: Cyprus Mail