Greece has charged more than 20 people and arrested five managers and employees at the state town planning service on the tourist island of Rhodes, for violations ranging from breach of duty to bribery and document forgery, police said on Thursday.
It is the second scandal to emerge since December involving public sector workers accused of bribery over the issuance of construction permits and following years of economic hardship and international bailouts for the country.
Transparency International, which measures perceptions of public sector corruption, ranks Greece second from the bottom in the eurozone ahead of Malta.
The Greek police investigation was launched after a member of the public tipped them off that town planning employees were asking for bribes for related work of up to 100,000 euros.
A leak of Greek Cypriot administration documents has detailed the sale of passports to individuals accused of crimes as well as people from other countries whose influence in government or public life makes them vulnerable to corruption.
Cash and gold
In total seven people have been arrested including an architect, who police believe is the leader of the group involved and a civil engineer.
More than 600,000 euros ($650,000) and 77 gold British pounds, worth hundreds of euros each, were confiscated from the homes of those detained, among them two senior managers, police officials said.
In December, 21 people were arrested in northern Greece including a former mayor and municipal managers at a local town planning service on similar charges.
They were accused of receiving bribes to expedite the issuance of permits and topographical plans for illegal construction work.
The European Commission launched infringements procedures against Greek-administered Cyprus and Malta over their “golden passport” programs, in which wealthy people can acquire EU citizenship in exchange for an investment.
