SDOE ceases to exist as a separate entity

The government is abolishing the Financial Crime Squad (SDOE) and the Labor Inspection Unit as separate entities in a bid to relieve their officials from political attachments and streamline the state sector, Deputy Minister for Tax Policy Apostolos Vesyropoulos said on Thursday.

SDOE's activities are being transferred to the Finance Ministry's Secretariat for Tax Policy, a move that ministry officials say is aimed at reducing the size of the state and slashing the number of general secretariats by a third.

"The move will be judged by its result," Vesyropoulos said, adding that if problems occur along the way, "no one is stopping us from making corrections."

SYRIZA deputy Tryfon Alexiadis attacked the decision, saying that the abolition of SDOE is the "best gift" the government could give to tax dodgers, smugglers and other perpetrators of financial crimes.