ECONOMY

Fines issued for alleged profiteering

Fines issued for alleged profiteering

The Development Ministry has issued fines of 113,500 euros in total over the period from March 16 to 24 following 266 inspections for profiteering in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The largest of those fines, amounting to 50,000 euros, was for a drug warehouse, as ministry inspectors established it had increased its profit margins on personal hygiene commodities from 20 to 35 percent, according to sources.

The authorities have also imposed fines of 20,000 euros each on three fuel stations on the island of Karpathos, in the Dodecanese, as it was found that the owners had increased their personal profit margins following the reduction in global and refinery oil rates. They have also been referred to the Competition Commission, which will examine whether the case points to cartel practices in price determination.

Inspections also revealed a strange incident: Following a complaint on the 1520 phone hotline regarding an order for 5,000 face masks worth 3,750 euros that were to be purchased by an individual to be donated to a state hospital, the inspection showed that the corporation that received the order appears to be closed.

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