Police cracks gang suspected of 5-million-euro mortgage scam
A total of 81 people, including bank employees, civil engineers and lawyers, have been implicated in a large mortgage scam uncovered by the economic crimes force, the Greek Police announced on Tuesday.
The gang, led by an employee at a bank in the Peloponnese who was in charge of issuing mortgages and home loans, is believed to have embezzled at least 5 million euros from the unnamed lender by securing loans on the basis of false property valuations.
Over the course of several months, investigators have examined 71 suspect loans, money from which has been traced to accounts under the names of suspected members of the ring.
The majority of these were issued to foreign nationals, who were approached by members of the gang when they expressed an interest at the bank in purchasing property. The property would be valued at two or even three times the asking price in order to ensure a larger mortgage, with the difference being cashed by the suspects, the police said.
Arrest warrants are expected to be issued over the course of the next few days.
