Massive island land grab scheme foiled

Authorities have uncovered a major land fraud attempt involving 45 plots of public land, totaling 550,000 square meters, on the islands of Hydra, Spetses and Agistri. A group of individuals from northern Greece is accused of using forged documents to illegally claim ownership of these lands, which include forested and agricultural areas.

The scheme was detected by a private surveyor and the Greek land registry (Ktimatologio) itself.

The suspects reportedly altered their tax declarations (E9 forms) retroactively to make it appear they had long-standing claims to the properties before the registry process began. Supporting their claims were affidavits repeatedly signed by the same individuals across multiple cases, creating an illusion of legitimacy. 

They used a single notary for all notarized documents, likely to streamline the forgery. Additionally, instead of...