The former Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture submitted his resignation earlier today, Thursday (June 11), George Didaskalou.
Please note that this is the second resignation of the Secretary-General, as this had been preceded a few days earlier by the resignation of the Secretary General for Spatial Planning at the Ministry of the Environment, Efthymios Bakogiannis.
Government sources report, “some secretaries-general who had held the same position for many years, The political leadership considered that they had run their course and asked them to resign“.
The name of Giorgos Didaskalos is reportedly involved in the urban planning scandal which was recently uncovered and in connection with which six people have been arrested.
George Didaskalou was Secretary-General for Culture since 2019 presiding in his official capacity and inthe Central Archaeological Council (KAS) and to the Central Council for Modern Monuments.
Prior to 2019, he had served as its secretary-general Municipality of Marousi Meanwhile, during the same period, the wife of Mr. Bakogiannis’s brother-in-law was working in the municipality’s urban planning department; she is one of the six people arrested in connection with the urban planning ring.
The Urban Planning Circuit
It should be noted that, since the beginning of Six people have been arrested, Urban Planning and Decentralized Administration officials in Galatsi, Kifissia, and Marousi—some of whom were high-ranking officials—and a private engineer who acted as an intermediary in the network of urban planning officials, whose activities have been documented since October 2025.
In addition, a group was formed indictment against 30 additional individuals, including employees of the Municipality of Nea Ionia, one employee of the Regional Directorate for the Inspection of Labor Relations of Piraeus and Western Attica, the Municipality of Mykonos, and 26 private individuals, including engineers, architects, and businesspeople.
On July 10, 2024, the first anonymous complaint was filed with the authorities, concerning improper actions by employees of the Municipality of Kifissia. Specifically, according to the allegations, the employees in question failed to issue citations for violations at establishments related to public health, in exchange for monetary payments.
Furthermore, according to the allegations, the city council members of the Municipality of Kifissia who are responsible for operating the municipality’s kiosks, were financed by their owners.
On September 27, 2024, the Internal Affairs Division received another anonymous complaint regarding misconduct by employees of the Building Departments in Attica.
According to the allegations, a high-ranking official of the Kifissia Building Authority, employees of the Agia Paraskevi Building Authority, and an employee of the Markopoulo Building Authority, were paid by a private engineer in order to ensure that the relevant permit was issued without any obstacles.
Based on the analysis and correlation of communications that took place between the individuals involved, in conjunction with the taking of statements and other preliminary investigative actions, it was determined that the existence of a structured criminal organization consisting of the six individuals who were arrested.
To achieve this goal, the members of the organization, leveraging their positions in the relevant regional Building Authorities and their participation in the Central Athens Architectural Council, the Architectural Councils and the Councils for Urban Planning Issues and Disputes, engaged in acts of urban planning abuse, demanding, by mutual agreement, sums of money or benefits in return, in violation of their official duties.
The codes in their conversations
It played an important role in safeguarding and continuing the organization's activities the implementation of protective measures. The measures they took concerned telephone communications, the use of keywords, and in-person meetings with private citizens.
Specifically, the members of the criminal organization avoided, whenever possible, discussing illegal activities in their telephone conversations, while in cases where the private engineers involved mentioned something related—such as payment, money, or «a push,» as they called it— the members would immediately cut off the conversation and insist that subsequent communications take place in person. At the same time, all members of the organization used encrypted online applications to prevent their telephone communications from being recorded. An analysis of all their communications revealed the use of keywords to refer to a sum of money, such as: «coffee,» «tools,» «plans,» and «papers.».
As for in-person meetings, especially for the purpose of receiving money, The members insisted that these take place in a «protected» space, such as inside vehicles, in store parking lots, and in health-related establishments. They often held an initial in-person meeting with the respective private mechanics to determine the illegal fee.
A couple played a leading role, the man who held the position of Technical Advisor at the Decentralized Administration of Attica following his transfer from the Kifissia Building Department, and a General Secretary of the Municipality of GAlatsio. The former, having an excellent knowledge of urban planning regulations and procedures, knew how to handle irregular cases in a seemingly lawful manner and guided the others as well.
The man who finds «solutions»
His wife was described as «the man who finds solutions,», for her exceptional ability to approach government officials and council members, persuade them, and influence the resolution of urban planning matters in exchange for money.
The total amount of their illicit financial gain cannot be determined due to the measures taken by the members of the organization to conceal its activities.
Arrest in the act
On Friday at noon, as part of a flagrante delicto operation and following surveillance, the Internal Affairs Division carried out a coordinated police operation.
In a café in Ilioupoli, the private engineer and member of the ring was observed handing a brown envelope to the ringleader, who was employed by the Municipality of Galatsi; the envelope, as it turned out, contained the sum of 3,000 euros and constituted an act of bribery. The individuals involved were then detained, followed by the arrest of the remaining members of the criminal organization and the conduct of searches of their homes.
As a result of searches conducted in homes, offices, and in the possession of the defendants, the following items were found and seized: a total of 334,895 euros, computers, cell phones, an external hard drive, planners, handwritten notes, and a safe deposit box rental agreement.
The arrested individuals were brought before the prosecutor, who charged them criminal prosecution for serious felonies, including, among others, leading and participating in a criminal organization, a serious case of money laundering, and accepting and offering bribes.
