Six Athens Town Planning Officials Jailed Pending Trial in Bribery Ring That Used Sweet Boxes to Move Cash

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Six Athens Town Planning Officials Jailed Pending Trial in Bribery Ring That Used Sweet Boxes to Move Cash

Six people accused of running a bribery ring inside town planning offices across the Athens region have been remanded in custody, including a married couple alleged to have led the operation — with surveillance evidence reportedly showing the female suspect using sweet boxes as containers for illicit cash payments. The defendants face charges including forming a criminal organisation, bribery, breach of duty, money laundering and influence peddling. All six denied the charges during hearings before an anti-corruption magistrate, with two municipal officials — the head of the building inspection department for Kifisia and the head of building permits for Marousi — arguing the prosecution's case rests entirely on misinterpreted phone calls. "I have never breached my duties or accepted money to perform my job," the Kifisia official said, citing 32 years of service and arguing that planning departments are inherently exposed to malicious complaints. "The prosecution relies solely on phone calls with colleagues and friends, the contents of which have been completely twisted." The Marousi official similarly denied ever requesting or receiving financial favours in 25 years in post. The National Transparency Authority and financial crimes units are auditing the suspects' bank accounts to trace the full extent of the alleged laundered assets. The case is one of the most significant public sector corruption prosecutions in Attica in recent years, involving officials with combined tenures of decades in sensitive permitting roles. By Lia Kontopoulou Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο iefimerida.gr Six people accused of running a bribery ring inside town planning offices across the Athens region have been remanded in custody, including a married couple alleged to have led the operation — with surveillance evidence reportedly showing the female suspect using sweet boxes as containers for illicit cash payments. The defendants face charges including forming a criminal organisation, bribery, breach of duty, money laundering and influence peddling. All six denied the charges during hearings before an anti-corruption magistrate, with two municipal officials — the head of the building inspection department for Kifisia and the head of building permits for Marousi — arguing the prosecution's case rests entirely on misinterpreted phone calls. "I have never breached my duties or accepted money to perform my job," the Kifisia official said, citing 32 years of service and arguing that planning departments are inherently exposed to malicious complaints. "The prosecution relies solely on phone calls with colleagues and friends, the contents of which have been completely twisted." The Marousi official similarly denied ever requesting or receiving financial favours in 25 years in post. The National Transparency Authority and financial crimes units are auditing the suspects' bank accounts to trace the full extent of the alleged laundered assets. The case is one of the most significant public sector corruption prosecutions in Attica in recent years, involving officials with combined tenures of decades in sensitive permitting roles. By Lia Kontopoulou Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο iefimerida.gr

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