Hiding behind the auction protesters
The Athens-Piraeus Notary Association has shed light on asset auctions canceled on Wednesday following protest action by various groups.
The cancellations concerned four scheduled auctions of assets belonging to corporations or individuals with very large debts that are hiding behind so-called collectives and escaping the consequences.
According to the notaries, the various protesting groups managed to halt the auctioning of an Italian-flagged ship owned by a Cypriot company for total debts of 12.3 million euros that included dues to seamen. They also prevented the sale of a plot and office building in Halandri that belong to a company with debts of 21.1 million euros, of which 9 million is owed to the state.
Another procedure that was called off concerned four apartments owned by the same individual in Psyrri, central Athens, over debts of 2.5 million euros, while a corporation with total debts of 3.1 million euros was spared the auctioning of a maisonette in Voula, southern Attica.
These examples, plus those revealed by the notaries last week, illustrate that the cancellation of auctions by protesters is benefiting debtors who do not belong to social groups that merit protection.
