Eight suspects arrested for alleged social security fraud

The Financial Police said on Thursday that they have smashed a racket of fraudsters believed to have swindled 360,000 euros from the Social Security Foundation (IKA) and the OAEE fund for freelancers and the self-employed by issuing forged diagnoses of worksite accidents with the help of doctors.

Officers arrested eight suspected ring members, all ethnic Greeks from the former Soviet Union, while police are probing the suspected involvement of 17 doctors.

According to the new head of the Financial Police, Manolis Ploumis, the ring has been operating since 2011.

The eight detained suspects include a 45-year-old OAEE employee and a 53-year-old former insurance salesman who is believed to have been the leader of the racket.