Golden Dawn MP, and party spokesman, Elias Kasidiaris raised a timely question in Parliament recently on the possible illegal trading of valuables (or gold). He said that due to the economic crisis, pawnshops have mushroomed all over the country by a whopping 85 percent and people have been selling their family jewels in a cry to get needy capital in their hands in order to make ends meet. Kasidiaris noted that the gains of these pawnshops are suspicious because there have been reports of this gold exiting Greece.
The Golden Dawn MP underlined that these shops are illegally trading gold because according to his sources, they do not have the proper documentation. Apparently, some dealers sell jewels or melt down the material without issuing any sort of receipts, or even providing the buyer with purchase documents.
In response to his question a government official said that the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) has begun investigating these shops and already has signalled out over 200 shops for committing severe economic violations (in other words, they do not maintain any records, they don't even issue invoices, pay taxes, or are not even registered).
Answering the Minister, Kasidiaris said if that is the case, then these shops are completely illegal and arbitrary and should shut down (which would be the logical thing), while he also revealed that this gold is being liquified and illegally being exported out of Greece. This was also confirmed by a government official who noted that following the completion of SDOE's investigation all necessary actions will be adopted and implemented immediately.
While industrial sectors have resorted to shedding of employees, buyouts and filing for bankruptcies, there was clearly a growth in pawn shops. In fact, the pawn shop business in Greece has enjoyed a huge growth over the last three years and there are now stores everywhere, even in posh neighborhoods!
So why did this particular new industry flourish (and along with it so did the rise in burglaries)? Simple, in the course of economic downturn, Greeks in deep debt and/or suffering from Greece's economic downturn, resorted in selling their gold in return for quick money. And this is because banks were in turmoil, so this new industry grew from those in need of massive money advances. Besides, pawn shops thrive in times of economic downturn, and there are fears that they will gain even more importance as casinos are keen to attract more premium-mass gamblers.
Statistics from SDOE claim that presently some 1,200 pawn shops and gold trading outlets appear to have a nominal license, while at the same time roughly 1,300 operate illegally! In Athens, authorities have already conducted investigations in areas such as Galatsi, Halandri, Glyfada, Pallini and Aegaleo. Moreover, one arrest has been made due to tax evasion, and the financial crimes squad is now focusing its efforts on the smugglers and illegal outlets.
Quite interestingly, Kasidiaris also said that there are increasing reports about specific foreign crime syndicates that are apparently the masterminds behind this illegal export of gold. He said that these criminals follow the IMF to the countries that it targets, and begin playing with the market. He also left it to be understood that the money being handed out by these pawn shops to all those selling the gold, might not even be on the up and up, and he also talked about loan sharks, and other such money laundering activities.
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