Accused in Greece: Five car owners

Each car owner prosecuted by the Greek authorities for driving a foreign-registered car in Greece has a different story to tell.

All of those below have either petitioned the European Parliament or lodged a complaint with the European Commission.

This is their side of the story. The Greek government does not comment on individual cases, but has given the BBC a general statement.

Click here for the Greek government's side of the story

KEITH SALTER

Job: Accountant from London
Citizenship: British
Age: 58
Car: Second-hand Daihatsu (not confiscated)
Fine: Originally 40,000 euros, now 60,000 euros (£40,000) including interest

Keith Salter started making regular visits to a house on a Greek island in 1997. He approached Greek Customs to check that it was all right for him to drive a UK-registered car. They said it was.

One day in 1988, on the way to the beach, a customs officer stopped him, told him to take the car out of the country, and issued him with a fine. In December the same year the Greek authorities said they were dropping all charges against him, but this turned out to be a false dawn. Within months, they had charged him with smuggling too. He is now fighting five cases in the Greek courts.

Mr Salter accuses the Greek government of "illegal tax farming". "I consider this a matter of principle, but also I have not got 40,000 euros to give to the Greek government," he says. In the long run, he expects to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

CAROLA LEMKE-LEONTOGLOU

Job: Makes ice-cream and runs two cafes in Crete, with husband Andreas
Citizenship: German
Age: 47
Car confiscated: Mercedes 190E
Fine: 7,000 euros

Carola Lemke-Leontoglou drove to Crete in 1997 with her son, who had undergone an operation in Berlin. She had (and still has) a written document from the Greek consul in Berlin, saying that she could drive for six months in Greece without any problem. But the car was confiscated as soon as she arrived in Crete. Customs officers said the consul had made a mistake.

They held her incommunicado, with her three-year-old boy, for more than three hours. When she was finally able to contact her husband, Andreas Leontoglou, a customs officer made him a deal: sign here to give up the car, and all your problems are over. "I said No, we go to court," he says. They are still fighting to get the car back, and to get the fine cancelled.

"Because she is married to a Greek, she was not allowed to drive a German car," says Andreas. "It's a system to take money, to put money in the customs."

PARASKEVAS LULUDAKIS

Job: Businessman based in Florence
Citizenship: Greek and Italian
Cars confiscated: BMW 728, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Iveco
Fine: 600,000 euros (£400,000) including interest

Paraskevas Luludakis was born in Crete but moved to Italy in 1974. He later started companies in Italy and Greece, dealing in property and olive oil. In 1995, three cars belonging to one of his companies were confiscated in Crete. Mr Luludakis was arrested on a charge of smuggling, handcuffed, and spent two days in cells.

He was cleared on appeal, but the fine was not withdrawn and he never got his cars back. He says he experienced heart problems at the time of his arrest, and has often considered suicide.

"The Greek authorities still consider me a resident of Greece," he says, "although they send all communications to me in Italy, where I live."

CHRISTOS RINIS

Job: Businessman in Germany/Greece/Canada
Citizenship: Greek
Age: 47
Cars lost: Mercedes 240, Mercedes 280, two Mercedes 300
Fine: 300,000 euros, reduced to 150,000 euros (before interest)

Christos Rinis moved to Canada in 1982, where he went into business making gas meters. In the 1990s he moved back to Europe, opening factories in Bremen, Germany - his company's main European base - and Komotini, north-east Greece.

In 1996 and 1997 Greek customs persuaded him to give up three Mercedes cars, instead of paying a large fine. But when they came for the fourth, which had been in the country for only 17 days, he refused to co-operate; he was fined and the car, less than two years old, was seized. Customs gave it to the Greek border police. Another of his cars was given to the bishop of Komotini, whose staff called Mr Rinis for advice when they had problems with the immobiliser.

Mr Rinis says the problems with his cars have had far-reaching consequences. He blames them for the break-up of his marriage, and says that his refusal to pay the fine has put him on a government blacklist, which prevents him starting new business ventures.

NIKOS KOUTROUVELIS

Job: UK-based businessman/consultant
Citizenship: Greek
Age: 38
Cars confiscated: Two 10-year-old Porsche sports cars
Fine: 1m euros (£700,000) before interest

"I have been through hell over the last 10 years," says Nikos Koutrouvelis, who had one car confiscated in 1995 and another in 1997. More recently two cars he was supplying to clients in Cyprus - a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Smart car - were confiscated while in transit through Greece, though they may yet be given back.

The huge size of the fines imposed on Mr Koutrouvelis' led to him facing criminal charges for non-payment. This in turn led to him being held for about a week in police cells, when illness had prevented him attending court.

A Greek court has cleared Mr Koutrouvelis of smuggling, but he is still expected to pay the fine for alleged tax evasion. "It's crazy," he says. "It's like saying there is no baby, but a woman is still pregnant."

He alleges that Greek customs are generally looking to seize cars that would fetch a reasonable sum at auction. "They would not confiscate a 15-year-old Golf, but gladly a Porsche or a 7-series BMW."

He also says it is a scandal that the European Commission waited until 2004 to launch proceedings against Greece in the European Court of Justice - a full seven years after he and a large group of others first lodged complaints.