Greece’s authorities uncovered a major corruption ring within the urban planning office of Rhodes, where officials allegedly manipulated inactive building permits in exchange for bribes.
An internal police investigation, launched in June 2024, revealed that employees of the Rhodes urban planning office accepted bribes worth thousands of euros to approve permits for hotel owners and major investors who failed to meet legal requirements.
According to the case file, officials altered old, inactive permits by modifying details, adding fraudulent engineer approvals, and stamping them with outdated seals to make them appear legitimate.
One particularly troubling aspect of the case involved a retired engineer suffering from dementia. Many of the falsified permits were linked to his credentials, with investigators estimating that at least 40 to 50 permits were issued using his identity.
After months of surveillance, authorities arrested seven suspects on March 19, including five urban planning employees, a private architect, and a civil engineer. During the raids, officers seized €387,100 in cash from one of the suspects’ homes.
Investigators identified a key architect who allegedly played a central role in recruiting public officials into the scheme. Officials from multiple departments—including permit issuance, construction inspections, and archives—were implicated.
Documents indicate that the architect accessed official permit records dating back to 1975 and 1993 to identify suitable cases for forgery. The bribes ranged from €5,000 to €30,000, with at least one case involving a €20,000 payment to expedite permit approval. In some instances, officials allegedly altered online applications to bypass legal barriers and push through fraudulent permits.
This case follows a similar corruption scandal in Halkidiki in December 2023, where 21 individuals—including municipal officials and architects—were arrested for falsifying permits and accepting bribes. Investigators estimate that the Halkidiki scheme generated at least €200,000 in illicit profits.
Authorities continue to investigate both cases as part of a broader crackdown on corruption within Greece’s urban planning system, aiming to restore transparency and integrity in the sector.
The problem of corruption in Greece is a significant and persistent issue, as indicated by various international reports and surveys.
Greece has shown no improvement in its corruption perception, maintaining 59th place out of 180 countries, according to the latest Transparency International report on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The organization looked at 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Greece has a score below passing levels at 49.
