A fraud case involving a Greek citizen attempting to claim 45 properties across the islands of Agistri, Hydra, and Spetses, totaling over 550,000 square meters, has come under investigation.
The Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Konstantinos Kyranakis, and the President of the Hellenic Land Registry, Styliano Sakaretsio, have filed a petition with Greece’s supreme court.
The case allegedly involves a fraudulent scheme using forged documents and false testimonies to claim ownership of the lands. The scheme allegedly relied on the same witnesses and notary for all properties, which supported retroactively amended property declarations.
Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Kyranakis stated that the new Hellenic Land Registry is now closely scrutinizing similar cases to uphold its credibility.
At the moment Greece does not have a complete land registry. But the creation of the digital registry has been underway for over decades. The government wants to have the registry complete by 2025, and has promised the elimination of ambiguities of files and records stored in boxes and unclear declaration.
The finalized land registry will provide a comprehensive map of public and private properties, demarcating forests, beaches, and ownership boundaries.
“The message we want to send to those who enter ideas is that these practices through digital controls are now easily detected. And the statute of limitations for these offenses is twenty years,” said Kyranakis of the fraud investigation.
He underlined that severe penalties are in place for such instances of fraud: perpetrators may face 5 to 10 years imprisonment for fraud against individuals and 10 to 20 years for crimes against the state.
