Greek authorities have uncovered a large-scale tax evasion scheme in the pizza delivery chain “Pizza Fan“, which has caused nearly 25 million euros in damage to the state budget in recent years. This was reported by “Sky“ television, BTA reports.
According to the investigation, the scheme was led with the participation of the company's management and relied on specially developed software. When accepting an order by phone, customers were asked whether they would pay by card or in cash. If they chose to pay in cash, the transaction was recorded in the system as a “treat“ - that is, as a free promotion, even though the customer actually paid for their order.
According to preliminary estimates, such orders accounted for about 25% of the chain's turnover. The scheme began operating in 2022, and the losses to the budget from value added tax (VAT) evasion are estimated at nearly 25 million euros.
The financial police began the investigation in April after receiving an anonymous but extremely detailed tip.
It was established that the company that owns the pizzerias is registered in Cyprus, and its owner is officially presented as an ordinary employee of the company. In addition to him, criminal prosecution for tax evasion and participation in a criminal group will also be initiated against 91 managers of establishments in the chain, who are alleged to have participated in the scheme.
According to the investigation, the managers handed over to the owner his share of the unreported income at meetings every two months. They were held in a VIP lounge in a shopping mall in the Athens district of Maroussi.
A police operation has detained 21 people. Among them are the owner of the chain, the second person in the organization, accountants and programmers who developed the software used for tax fraud.
During a search of the owner's villa in Ekali, in the northern part of Athens, police discovered a secret room in which about 1 million euros and high-value jewelry were stored.