One of Greece’s most prominent businessmen, Leonidas Bobolas, scion of a construction and media dynasty, was arrested on Wednesday on tax evasion charges.
The arrest comes in the wake of an ongoing probe on the so-called Lagarde list of major depositors in Swiss banks.
Bobolas, CEO of the Greek construction company Ellaktor, was released within a few hours after paying 1.8 million euros (1.93 million U.S. dollars) to the Greek state to settle the case, Greek national news agency and other local media reported.
The businessman was detained after an investigation into the catalogue of more than 2,000 holders of bank accounts in Switzerland revealed that there was a 1.8 million euros discrepancy between his declared assets and deposits abroad, judicial sources said.
In addition to fines and interest, Bobolas was initially asked to pay 4 million euros. Following a compromise deal based on a recent law that foresees favorable measures for those repaying sums owed to the Greek state, he paid the 1.8 million euros to close the case.
In a laconic statement released by his office, Bobolas claimed that he took the initiative and appeared before authorities “voluntarily” to settle a taxation case which closed.
Bobolas’ name has been associated with the list of Greek suspected tax dodgers International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde handed to Greek authorities in the autumn of 2010, when she was France’s finance minister.
The Greek list was part of a wider database leaked by an HSBC former employee to French authorities. After four years of investigations, the Greek state has little to show for as investigations continue.
The leftist government which assumed office on January this year has pledged to bring tax dodgers of the Lagarde list and other lists to justice and retrieve much needed funds to address a debt crisis which has brought Greece at the brink of bankruptcy.
Bobolas was the first major tax evader facing justice this year. Ellaktor is the largest construction group in Greece which is involved in public works contracts in Greece and abroad for over four decades.
Bobolas, his brother Fotis and their father George are regarded as probably the most characteristic case of the so-called Greek oligarchs who are accused of winning contracts due to their parallel activity in mass media and close ties with the political status quo, obstructing fair competition in the Greek market in several fields.
The family has a major share in one of the top private television channels in Greece, a leading daily and other media.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and cabinet ministers have stressed over the past few months that tackling major tax evasion and this group of oligarchs will be among the government’s top priorities.
During a recent press briefing, Panayiotis Nikoloudis, Greece’s first ever Minister of State Combating Corruption, told Xinhua and other media that despite progress steps made in tracing tax dodgers, Greece still faced major problems in the tax collection mechanism.
He said that in the period 2011-2014, there were 28,000 inspections conducted on taxpayers by the Financial Crimes Squad and other authorities.
In 5,500 of these cases, authorities found irregularities, major gaps between declared incomes and real estate properties and deposits.
