Mitsotakis defends anti-crime drive, says 1,510 DAOE cases in two years and attacks opposition

Two years of the organised crime directorate

On Tuesday, 3 November, Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed an event at the Athens Megaro Mousikis marking two years since the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (DAOE), known in the press as the 'Greek FBI', began operating. He said that over 24 months the directorate handled 1,510 organised crime cases and attributed charges to 5,454 people, while dismantling 259 gangs. The networks ranged from illegal fuel and cigarette smuggling rings to cross-border crime and groups that had infiltrated tax offices, planning departments and prisons. Mitsotakis tied these results to the government's 'Legality Everywhere' slogan, which he said had become a daily fight. He also cited an OECD assessment under which Greece rose 11 places since 2018 and recorded the second-biggest improvement in tackling corruption.

Cases handled1,510

People facing charges5,454

Gangs dismantled259

Cases handled

1510 count

People facing charges

5454 count

Gangs dismantled

259 count

Data from the article text

Timing and the recent revelations

Mitsotakis answered critics who asked why the cases were surfacing a few months before the 2027 elections. The recent revelations involve tax-fraud investigations into Pizza Fan and the Chorliatiko bakeries, plus a network inside planning offices. Reports of possible involvement by officials of the tax authority AADE in the Chorliatiko case had prompted accusations of protection from above. In an interview with Alpha 98.9 he said the cases had been worked on by the authorities for years and required political will, which he credited to his government. He added that the 'Greek FBI' had been ridiculed when it was set up, and that the government had chosen to act anyway.

“Other laws of other governments released prisoners en masse and changed criminal codes before elections.”

He contrasted that record with his own government's push for tougher penalties and new rules aimed at arresting offenders.

Tax revenue and AADE cases

Kostis Chatzidakis, the government vice-president, told Real FM that large corruption and tax-fraud cases have been surfacing for years and are referred to the courts by audit bodies. He listed AADE findings: 30 million euros of digital tax fraud from electronic shops in 2023, fines of 130 million euros imposed in 2024 on a mobile phone trade circuit, and 10.5 million euros of evasion by two betting companies in 2024. He said the authority identified fake invoices worth 720 million euros from 147 businesses in 2026, and that the 'Greek FBI' had dismantled more than 250 criminal organisations in two years. Mitsotakis said the extra revenue from fighting tax evasion topped 2.2 billion euros in 2025 and could be higher in 2026, money he said would fund health, education, defence and civil protection.

2023 digital fraud, e-shops30

2024 mobile phone circuit fines130

2024 betting companies evasion10.5

2026 fake invoices, 147 businesses720

2023 digital fraud, e-shops

30 million euros

2024 mobile phone circuit fines

130 million euros

2024 betting companies evasion

10.5 million euros

2026 fake invoices, 147 businesses

720 million euros

Data from the article text

Public servants and the opposition

On public employees who assist criminal networks, Mitsotakis was blunt.

“They will be identified, brought before justice and dismissed. No criminal network is stronger than the state.”

He also accused the opposition of voting against what he called a critical reform, and said Alexis Tsipras had kept parliament open in order to change the criminal code. In the Alpha interview he said Tsipras had been attacking him personally since 2016, when Mitsotakis was elected New Democracy leader, and that he was used to such attacks. Throughout the event he repeated that Greece is not, in his words, 'all the same', pointing to the OECD ranking and the anti-crime record as evidence.