Greek businessman and shipowner Giannis Alafouzos has had his assets frozen by the Greek financial crime prosecutor, which is investigating “irregularities” in his accounts, reports say.
Giannis was formerly the head of tanker owner Ermis Maritime and is the son of Aristeidis Alafouzos, who is the head of Kyklades Maritime.
The younger Alafouzos was targeted by investigators after his name appeared on a list of around a million Greek taxpayers, who made transactions of more than EUR 300,000 between 2000 and 2012, according to reports in Greece.
Alafouzos has been unable to justify some EUR 50m during the period, leading the Control Center of Taxpayers with Great Wealth (KEFOMEP) to freeze his assets.
Since its creation in 2015, KEFOMEP, an agency of the Greek Tax Office, has frozen the accounts of hundreds of individuals in Greece who have large bank accounts without having declared proportionate incomes to the tax office.
In a statement, Alafouzos said he welcomed the investigation and would cooperate.
“I have repeatedly stated and I emphasize now that all my income is from shipping activities abroad. The only activities I have in Greece are the investments I’ve made in the media for 26 years and continue to do so today, and my participation in the last four years in Panathinaikos,” he stated.
He is the president of Greece’s Panathinaikos football club and is founder and chairman of the country’s SKAI media group.
