Gang pays drug users to help in major scam
A gang used 12 drug addicts to set up tens of companies in Thessaloniki which acted as fronts to swindle the state and banks out of some 1.6 million euros, police said yesterday as they began legal proceedings against 29 people. Police said the ringleader and his six closest associates, who were not named, paid each drug addict between 50 and 100 euros a month for the use of their personal details, such as their tax registration number and identity cards. The documents were used to set up companies that traded between each other. Members of the gang claimed back almost 1.2 million euros in value-added tax (VAT) returns on behalf of the firms. They also used the fronts to claim 453,000 euros’ worth of credit from a variety of banks.
