By S. Emmanuil
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Alleged violations of China’s capital controls in Greek real estate transactions linked with the so-called “Golden Visa” program have involved a high-profile executive vice-president of the Jumbo group, one of the largest toy and children’s retailers in southeast Europe.
News of the financial probe by Chinese authorities generated an immediate reaction in Athens this week, with Jumbo founder and CEO Apostolos Vakakis reportedly requesting the resignation of the ATHEX-listed company’s VP and board member Evangelos Papaevangelou.
The latter has established a real estate holding and management company over the recent period – completely separate from Jumbo – that has aggressively entered in the property sector in the east Mediterranean country, especially in e-auctions.
Regulators in Beijing are focusing on POS payments – via Greek banks – by PRC nationals to acquire property in Greece, thereby taking advantage of the visa program. The latter grants third country nationals a residency visa when they purchase real estate in Greece with transactions exceeding 250,000 euros.
Reports on Wednesday morning in Athens cited possible involvement by Greek tax authorities, given that the “golden visa” program reportedly does not envision the use of POS payments.
