Insurance scam blown open
Over 2 million euros are thought to have been embezzled from the National Insurance Company, a branch of the National Bank of Greece, according to reports.
The investigation of the case, being conducted by the Financial Police and the Electronic Crimes Squad, has led to the arrest of three people on Tuesday on charges of running a complex scam that dates as far back as 2009, whereby fraudulent insurance claims were filed and cashed in on.
One of the people arrested is an employee with National Insurance who allegedly used old traffic accident reports to refile bogus claims for compensation. The money from the claims was believed to have been subsequently deposited in different bank accounts, the holders of which are being investigated as accomplices to the fraud.
The other two people arrested, a man aged 47 and a woman aged 41, are suspected of recruiting bank account holders to participate in the scam by cashing the money deposited by the insurance company and splitting it among the members of the gang.
Investigations so far suggest that there may be as many as 130 such «accomplices» involved in the fraud, two of which were taken into custody on Tuesday after they tried to withdraw money from their bank accounts deposited by the insurance company to cover fraudulent claims.
Police also conducted raids on seven residences in the Attica area in search of more evidence to support the ongoing investigation.
