AADE’s Special Forces with underwater drones & luxury car raids: Who is being targeted by the Inspections

With drones, an underwater ROV, anti-smuggling vessels, and integer cross-checks utilizing banks, Taxis, and societal media, the caller “DEOS” work of Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is entering aggressively into the hunt for large-scale taxation evasion and economical crime. The caller General Directorate of Financial Transaction Control Forces is present taking connected the relation of a “special operations” unit, targeting organized smuggling rings, amerciable superior flows, and suspicious transactions.

According to the AADE Operational Plan for 2026, DEOS is readying astatine slightest 39,300 inspections and investigations during the year, with 450 specialized auditors collecting and cross-checking information from each disposable source. The caller work was created to unify responsibilities that had until present been scattered crossed the taxation inspection mechanism, truthful that inspections tin beryllium conducted faster, much precisely, and done a communal operational center.

AADE’s caller “arsenal” resembles an organized transgression enforcement bureau much than a accepted taxation authority. DEOS possesses six aerial drones and an further underwater ROV drone, which volition beryllium utilized this twelvemonth successful astatine slightest 18 maritime enforcement operations, chiefly to observe substance smuggling and suspicious cargo. At the aforesaid time, it has 3 anti-smuggling vessels, a fixed X-ray system for parcels and luggage, 36 portable cameras, endoscopes, radiation detection systems, peculiar vehicles, and adjacent operational surveillance equipment.

Particular accent is besides being placed connected the Maritime Control Unit, which volition behaviour astatine slightest 400 inspections during 2026, including 60 utilizing Customs Service anti-smuggling vessels. The main absorption is substance smuggling, wherever AADE believes millions of euros successful taxation gross are inactive being lost.

However, DEOS is not constricted lone to customs and taxation violations. The caller work besides has jurisdiction implicit detecting amerciable trafficking of drugs, weapons, explosives, antiquities, and taste goods, portion participating successful wealth laundering investigations and cases involving amerciable superior movements. At the aforesaid time, it conducts inspections related to undeclared labour and violations of labour security legislation, informing the Labor Inspectorate accordingly.

Within lone a fewer months of afloat operation, the caller work has already carried retired a bid of high-profile operations. At the extremity of March, DEOS inspectors uncovered six acquisition institutions successful Attica, Chania, and Ioannina that were issuing uncertified degrees and big acquisition certificates. According to the investigation, these businesses had earned amerciable profits of €3.2 cardinal implicit astir 2 years.

A fewer days later, DEOS dismantled an organized planetary cigaret smuggling ring, conducting operations successful apartments successful Athens and Eastern Attica. Inspectors located and seized 6,500 packs of smuggled cigarettes from large brands and made arrests. According to investigative information, the baccy products arrived from Turkey and were past distributed to different European countries done an organized network.

In mid-April, different cognition drew large attention: nationwide inspections of luxury supercars. Using accusation from toll stations, customs offices, and integer risk-analysis tools, DEOS inspectors carried retired raids astatine dealerships, car lots, parking facilities, and high-traffic businesses. The effect was the seizure of 229 luxury vehicles worthy much than €10 million, including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with immoderate valued astatine much than €750,000. Violations ranged from amerciable registration and undervaluation to issues involving taxation residency, plus declarations, and source-of-funds documentation.

The accusation utilized by DEOS present comes from a immense integer web of cross-checks. The work draws information from Taxis, EFKA, GEMI, banks, customs systems, and accusation databases, portion named and anonymous national complaints proceed to play a important role. Even societal media posts are being scrutinized, arsenic they often uncover cases of unjustified wealthiness oregon activities inconsistent with declared income.

AADE’s operational program for 2026 includes, among different things, 18,000 on-site preventive inspections, 14,500 enforcement inspections by mobile units, 900 investigations into intra-community VAT fraud, 800 inspections related to wealth laundering and plus recovery, and 600 operations involving the trafficking of drugs, weapons, explosives, and antiquities.

DEOS is besides strengthening practice with planetary organizations specified arsenic Europol, Interpol, and European Anti-Fraud Office, aiming for faster accusation speech regarding planetary economical transgression and smuggling networks.