From the dark adult strip clubs of Athens, trafficking rings, and millions in money laundering, to fresh lagana and «Choriatiko» bread.
Angelos Giannakopoulos, a businessman with an extensive judicial record, managed once again to make front-page headlines as the Greek FBI ambushed him at the airport and arrested him the moment he returned from the luxury of Dubai.
The raid by DAOE and the accountant mastermind
The operation by the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DAOE) began on Sunday morning, targeting a well-orchestrated multi-million euro tax fraud scheme. Police officers had called off the raid multiple times, as the prime suspect was holed up in Dubai. Yet the moment he stepped foot in Greece, handcuffs clicked shut immediately. Arrested alongside him was an accountant who allegedly served as the «mastermind» in the criminal organization's structure, while authorities signal a fresh round of arrests.
From human trafficking in Eastern Europe to... kneading dough
This is not the first time Giannakopoulos has drawn the attention of the authorities.
In 2010, a joint operation by Interpol, the Security Police, and the National Intelligence Service (EYP) dismantled the gigantic human trafficking ring he ran.
Women from Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova were brought in on tourist visas and forced to work as dancers and engage in prostitution at the businessman's nightclubs.
In 2015, he was convicted at first instance to 10.5 years of imprisonment for criminal organization, human trafficking, and money laundering, with the court finding at the time that the «black» profits of the adult clubs were systematically laundered through the then-rising bakery chain.
Free on bail, underworld extortion, and the new downfall
Despite the heavy conviction, the appeal had suspensive effect, allowing him to walk free on an astronomical bail of hundreds of thousands of euros.
At the Court of Appeal the sentences were reduced, but his name surfaced again in 2025 in the case file of the notorious «Edik» or «Voice», where he appeared as an extortion victim, paying 200,000 euros a month to prevent his venues in Athens and Mykonos from being blown up.
Now, the «king of bread» is once again in the hands of justice, proving that no matter how many millions you knead, tax fraud eventually rises dangerously.
The guilty adult past
It is recalled that Angelos Giannakopoulos did not only own Alcatraz, but was identified by authorities as the hidden owner behind an entire «chain» of well-known nightclubs and strip joints on Syggrou Avenue and in central Athens (such as Alcatraz, Grand Ritorno, Moulin Bleu, and Star).
Indeed, when he stood trial, he attempted during his testimony to act... romantic, arguing characteristically: «I fell in love with a dancer, I brought her to Greece, and for the love of a woman I did everything and opened the venues».
However, the courts concluded that these venues served as the «front» and source of illicit cash, which was subsequently funneled and «laundered» to build the «Choriatiko» bakery empire.
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