Greek police arrest 11, including Katerini's planning chief and seven private engineers, over permit bribes

The Hellenic Police internal affairs unit made the arrests on Monday, Nov. 2, in northern Greece and Athens, according to a police statement published by ProtoThema. BTA and Parapolitika reported that the detained staff include the director of the planning department and the chief of its building and inspection section. On Tuesday a Katerini prosecutor filed felony charges against all 11, among them repeated bribery, breach of duty, participating in a criminal group and forgery, Enikos reported. The accused were given until Nov. 5 and 6 to testify before an investigating judge. Another 64 people are named in the case file.

Police say the group had been active since at least December 2025. Fees of €150 to €400 allegedly moved a permit file to the front of the line, according to BTA and Parapolitika. For €6,000 to €7,000, employees allegedly certified that unpermitted buildings went up before 2011, the cutoff that makes them eligible for legalization under Greek law, BTA reported. In some cases, police say, staff prepared the technical studies and survey drawings themselves, and private engineers signed and stamped them so the cash looked like design fees.

Investigators counted 151 alleged offenses involving €137,932.58 in money and goods requested or received, including €4,760.58 in appliances, computers, phones and furniture. Searches of homes, cars and offices turned up €264,440 in cash, part of it sorted into 30 envelopes, plus securities with a face value of €420,000, 38 British gold sovereigns and eight civil engineers' stamps. Police also notified Greece's anti-money-laundering authority.

No one has been convicted. The Municipality of Katerini said it had told officials to hand over all requested files and that its building service was operating normally.