13 public sector officials with deposits of 25 million euros

An orgy of "black" money was discovered by the SEEDD auditors in 13 bank accounts of public officials who had more than 25 million euros in deposits. According to a document of the Ministry of Administrative Reform which "Proto Thema" has in its possession, among those identified by the auditors is a ministry official who has "unjustified deposits" of 8.9 million euros, a judicial official with 7.9 million euros and several heads of urban and forestry services. The ministry document was submitted to the House after a question by Piraeus PASOK MP Manolis Benteniotis who, among other things, mentions that "the great problem of the country is not only the economic crisis, but also the moral and social crisis" adding that "corruption reaches 10% of the GDP and the informal economy which is connected with  corruption reaches 35% of the GDP, "while he asked for the launch of" the legal procedures and seizure or auctions of real estate in order to return to the public illegal funds and unlawfully acquired money. " It is clear from the reply of the Ministry that almost all the 13 employees still move freely and enjoy what they have unjustly acquired. The only penalties that have been imposed to date are disciplinary ones and any criminal prosecution is still pending.

Multimillionaire ministry officials

As stated in the letter of the Ministry of Administrative Reform, the SEEDD inspections showed that in the bank accounts of an official  of a Ministry in Athens, deposits totaling EUR 8,923,506.59 have been identified which are not justified. " The multi-millionaire public servant, who is retired, was formally charged since “these deposits were granted by trade union members who the official represented", but it is not yet known if "part of the money was embezzled."

A Judicial Clerk with 7.9 million

The auditors were astounded by of a judicial official’s deposits, who reportedly served in the Administrative Court of Athens. Furthermore, the investigation "identified in the family bank accounts, beyond payroll and other deposits, an amount of EUR 7,965,236.64, held by the same person or the spouse" Note that the Justice Department has ordered disciplinary proceedings against the employee since last December and the relevant Tax Office which was forwarded the report to investigate possible tax violations replied that "due to lack of staff it was unable to complete its investigations within two months of the disclosure of the report and asked for an extension of time "!

Custom officers with unexplained deposits

Customs officers could not be excluded from the group of employees with excessive and unwarranted statements. Specifically, in bank accounts of a customs officer, inspections identified deposits amounting to EUR 923,554.67, which were "unjustified." The employee was referred to the appropriate disciplinary board for the offense of "indecent character or unworthy conduct of an employee in-service" and a penalty "of  a 10-day fine" was imposed!. Moreover, the Athens Misdemeanor Appeals Court sentenced him to 10 months' imprisonment (suspended) and the relevant Tax Office considered that "there was no other tax liability." In this way, it seems that there is no asset confiscation for the particular employee, who continues to move freely and enjoy the "fruits of his labor."

Urban planning officials are the "high priests" of corruption

The record low with the most "corrupt" officials belongs to the Urban Planning Agency. Specifically, five of the thirteen cases referred to in the letter of the Ministry of Administrative Reform concern urban planning services  managers across the country tied to accounts in which more than 4 million without justification were identified.
Specifically:
- Following a complaint, inspectors found in the bank accounts of an island urban planning employee "unjustified deposits" of 1,563,355 euros. The result of the investigations led the tax authorities to confirm that taxes must be paid by the employee reaching 330,561.47 euros
- The same happened with the former Director of Planning of an island prefecture who showed "unjustified deposits amounting to 609,382 euro, who was automatically suspended." In addition, the IRS imputed taxes and surcharges amounting to EUR 877,832.06 and the court imposed a ban on leaving the country.
- In an urban planning chief’s bank accounts ( Western Greece) "unjustified deposits" of 607,637 euros were identified.
- Another City Planning chief of Attica was caught with savings of 353,971.6, which he cannot justify
- Finally, a planning officer from Northern Greece was found to have in his accounts the sum of 61,296.10 euros, which not only could he not justify, but also led to him being charged with money laundering.

Croesus forest marshal and the "rat" in the Public Employment Office

A former forest marshal in the Saronic Islands seems to have been  a multimillionaire. According to the document, "the undue amount of deposits, determined by the investigation in this case, amounted to 1,014,701.4 EUR, of a total of 4,109,449 EUR in deposits" The impressive thing is that even after he was prosecuted by the judiciary, the relevant disciplinary body acquitted him for that offense and then  fired him recently, after his having been sentenced for giving permission for a mobile antenna placement in a forested area and an archaeological site ! In addition, a second former Forest Service chief of an island prefecture was found with 88,200 euros which could not be explained legally.

Retentions of money orders for personal gain seem to have been carried out by an  OAED employee, in whose bank accounts 675,615.28 euros in undue deposits were detected.

Furthermore, by opening the accounts of a head of the Municipalities Association, undue deposits of EUR 506,059.02  emerged and the control of the assets proved that this could not be explained through income. Finally, a former director of technical services in Western Greece, who has deposits amounting to EUR 600,000, received the penalty of permanent decommissioning..