Monday, May. 21, 2012 |
Greek state racing firm CEO arrested in debt case
Page last updated at 04:14 GMT, Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 09:14 EST
The Seattle Times:
The head of Greece's state-controlled horseracing company was arrested Wednesday on charges that the corporation withheld taxes and owed debts of euro83 million ($109 million) to the state, officials said.
The detention of Alexandros Zaharis, head of Horseracing Organization of Greece SA., or ODIE, is the latest of several arrests for debts to the state in the near-bankrupt country. But it is the first involving an official from a company in the broader state sector.
A police official confirmed Zaharis' arrest on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.
Police say ODIE failed to pay the state some euro277,000 ($365,000) in withheld taxes on profits and a further euro741,000 ($976,000) in other dues between January and May 2011, in addition to the euro83 million debt.
The criminal charges, if proved in court, carry a minimum five-year prison sentence.
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Comments
Not a bad proposition
February 2, 2012 by Jim Adams (United States ), 15 weeks 4 days ago
So let's see... Defrauding the public of $109 million. Maybe stashing the money somewhere abroad? Five years in prison? What does it come out to? $22 million a year? Doesn't sound like a bad proposition to me!
Well, how about you lock 'em up for 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years? That's IF you want people to believe that Greece is serious on cracking down on fraud.