Greece names and prosecutes celebrity tax evaders

Page last updated at 10:44 GMT, Monday, January 23, 2012 - 15:44 EST

Guardian:

Greek government has moved fast to prosecute tax evaders for the first time.

All photographs come from the aforementioned news sources, and full copyright ownership is maintained by those sources. This site uses the images purely for reference to the original source and educational purposes, and does not profit in any way from their use.

Prospects of Greece securing a debt deal that might save the eurozone from further turmoil was eclipsed on Monday, by the news that some of the nation's leading celebrities have been hoodwinking the taxman for years.

As the world frets over the country's increasingly unmanageable debt burden, the finance ministry has revealed that 4,151 Greeks owe €14.9bn (£12.4bn) to the state – more than the €14.5bn bond repayment Athens has to make in March.

The list includes the singer Tolis Voskopoulos, a former basketball star, Michael Misounof and high-profile entrepreneurs, many of them behind bars. Fifteen offenders owed more than €100m, each, in back taxes with one man, an accountant serving several life sentences, owing €952m.

Read the whole story: Guardian