Fraud

An organized criminal group comprising Bulgarian citizens has been implicated in what authorities describe as the largest welfare fraud scheme in the legal history of Great Britain. The group, which operated between October 2016 and May 2021, has pleaded guilty and is set to stand trial in May for embezzling more than 50 million pounds, according to a report by Sky News.

The Prosecutor of the Supreme Court has brought charges of electoral fraud against eleven lawmakers of the far-right Spartiates (Spartans) party, Kathimerini understands, in a case that could affect the parliamentary seats of the other parties. 

The charges do not include party leader Vassilis Stigas.

A Bulgarian woman, Irina Dilkinska, has been handed a four-year prison sentence for her involvement in a large-scale fraud scheme orchestrated by the cryptocurrency company OneCoin. Damien Williams, a prosecutor in the New York court, announced the verdict.

The third defendant to testify before the European Public Prosecutor's Greek representative on Tempe-related contract 717 has been released on bail of €700,000.

The defendant, who was an official at ERGOSE, the projects branch of Hellenic Railways (OSE), is also banned from leaving the country.

Police have apprehended 32 individuals allegedly involved in a sophisticated fraud network in the southern province of Mersin.

The operation, conducted under the coordination of the chief public prosecutor's office in the city, unveiled a web of deceit that spanned various fraudulent schemes, resulting in a collective profit of 180 million Turkish Liras ($5.6 million).

Two executives of ERGOSE, the projects branch of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), were ordered to post a 600,000-euro and 500,000-euro bail, respectively, before being released from jail on Thursday as part of a European probe into a deadly train collision last year, and specifically the implementation of Contract 717 for the automatic operation and signaling of the railway network. 

Former Barcelona football player Arda Turan has been found guilty of tax fraud in Spain and sentenced to a one-year prison sentence that was suspended, a Spanish court has said.

The court said the former Türkiye midfielder committed two counts of tax fraud in 2015 and 2016. He was fined 630,000 euros ($684,000).

Dimitris Koutsolioutsos, founder of jewelry company Folli-Follie, began his defense in an Athens court Friday by highlighting his company's successes.

An 86-year-old woman fell victim to a telephone scam, losing a significant BGN 26,000 to cunning fraudsters. The Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Haskovo confirmed the unfortunate incident, explaining how the deceptive scammers operated.

Authorities in Varna have detained two individuals suspected of orchestrating a widespread bank phishing scam that has left countless Bulgarians reeling from financial losses.