Close cooperation between Greek authorities and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office helped crack a case of corruption and illicit imports worth hundreds of millions of euros via the port of Piraeus.
The case, code-named operation Calypso, is still being investigated, and the extent of the tax avoidance fraud is still unknown, since there are still 1,500 containers, out of 1,750 total impounded, to be inspected.
A total of eight people have so far been arrested, including a Chinese couple, a 60-year-old husband and his wife and six currently active or retired customs officials.
A 60-year-old customs official is said to be the main contact of the Chinese couple.
A Greek prosecutor working at the European Public Prosecutor’s office, charged three more customs officials, including two retirees, with taking part in the scam. The scheme involved goods such as clothing, fabrics and electric bikes.
“Operation Calypso is a success story that proves that cooperation between Greek and European authorities can produce significant results in fighting customs and tax fraud,” Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis posted Wednesday after meeting with European Public Prosecutor Laura Kovesi.
Taxes recovered in the operation so far contributed to customs revenue increasing 11%, or by €420 million in 2025. That is despite the fact that imports had declined overall, authorities said.