Greek magnate says tax evasion arrest was ‘upsetting’ episode
Bobolas, managing director of Greece’s biggest construction firm Ellaktor and whose family also owns newspapers, was detained on suspicion of tax evasion and money-laundering on Wednesday. He was released a few hours later after paying 1.8 million euros ($1.94 million) in back taxes to avoid charges.
Bobolas is the first high-profile businessman to be arrested since the new leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took power. Tsipras has pledged to take on an entrenched oligarchy that many Greeks say has avoided the pain suffered by ordinary Greeks amid the country’s debt crisis.
“The whole arrest episode is something very upsetting, because I am a businessman with activities abroad and I believe I am representing my country as well,” Bobolas told Reuters in a telephone interview.
He said he had been given until April 30 to make the payment but that authorities hauled him in to make him pay before the deadline.
“Usually, prosecutors wait until the period within which you can pay expires and if the deadline expires and you have not made the payment, they start the legal procedure,” he said.
“I was surprised yesterday because I intended to settle the case and prevent it from becoming a criminal one.”
Earlier on Thursday, Greece’s anti-corruption ministry said it would pursue taxes owed by all Greeks “without exception”.
“All Greeks are equal in the eyes of the law,” a statement from the ministry said.
Greece’s financial crisis has led to public anger with a political and business elite widely viewed as privileged and corrupt, prompting authorities to step up corruption investigations. Still, arrests of powerful figures are rare.
Last month, former Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou was found guilty of tampering with a list of suspected tax evaders and given a sentence of a year in jail, which he will not have to serve provided he commits no crime over the next three years.
