Transport minister sacks political director following allegations of money laundering from human trafficking

In the photo on the left is Dimitris Karras. On the right is Minister Vasilis Ikonomou

Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Vasilis Ikonomou announced the termination of cooperation with director of his political office after media reports that he was allegedly involved in laundering money received from human trafficking*.

On Monday, Ikonomou posted on social media that he was firing his office director following reports against him.. “I won't allow anyone to cast a shadow on me”he wrote.

το ργείο Υποδομών καί ημήτρη Καρρά. pic.twitter.com/4VCxpSNdRl

— Oikonomou Vasilis (@OikonomouVasili) September 30, 2024

“According to reports that have come to my attention, my office and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport are immediately ending their cooperation with Mr. Dimitris Karras.”

Minister Ikonomou's decision comes a day after an omvia tv report revealed that the director's company was linked to companies allegedly involved in a case of money laundering from human traffickers. “I will not allow a shadow to exist for any reason, undermine the ongoing transparent work and disorient public opinion from our constant struggle for improving the daily life of citizens”, – said Ikonomou.

Earlier it became known that in criminal court an international gang of human traffickers codenamed “Amaryllis”(named after the girl who initiated this matter).

One of their divisions is the well-knownFinnish criminal gangcodenamed “Marina”, associated with high-profile cases of pimping. The group recruited women who came to Greece from Colombia and other Latin American countries, promising them a better life. She kept them under lock and key and rented them out to brothels. The case was named after Marina girlswho managed to escape.

Girl named Amaryllis was able to escape from Thessaloniki and reached Madrid. With the help of Spanish authorities, she returned to Greece to report what had happened. As a result, the Greek police launched an investigation together with Interpol.

In June 2023, employees EL.AS spent brothel raid in the center of Athens, in Kallithea, Daphni, Egaleo and on Katehaki Avenue. In total, they found 51 women from Colombia, Venezuela and Albania. They were promised that in a few months they would return to their countries with $20,000.
Among the 10 charges brought against the defendants is money laundering.

Dimitris Karrasuntil recently political office director Vasilisa Economou And President ONNED Varis, also allegedly involved in this case. Yesterday, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport suspended him from work in connection with the revelations.

According to Anna Nini, who told Omnia TV about this, Mr. Karras, according to the indictment, ran one of the companies created to launder money. It also reveals the shared address of his own company's headquarters in Vari with another company used by the scheme.

In particular, from documents posted on ΓΕΜΗit follows that one of the establishments involved in the case is a fast food restaurant, which, as it turned out, is 100% owned by a figurehead under the initials AQ. Apparently, another restaurant operates at the same address, “responsible person” which is Dimitrios Karras, created by him in 2012. According to ΓΕΜΗit is listed as 100 percent “owner”, not how “responsible person”as stated in the indictment.

Second time name Dimitrios Karras appears in the case in 2023 when the two defendants proceeded to set up another company based in Vari with the stated business of providing fast food restaurant food. According to the OmniaTV report, this company was also allegedly 100% owned by a front man with the initials AQ, and at the same address there was a catering store with the distinctive name “MAKKAN”, according to the indictment, where Dimitrios Karras again “led the operations”. According to the indictment, the management was carried out by the accused “Irene”, “who was constantly physically present in the establishment”.

*Editor’s note: in the Greek Criminal Code article “human trafficking” implies “transportation of illegal immigrants.” Such a strict wording was created in order to scare smugglers involved in transporting illegal migrants. According to this article of the Greek Criminal Code, for each “client” the carrier receives a term of 8 to 12 years. Moreover, the term is summed up, which ultimately leads to such unrealistic figures as 800 or more years in prison.

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