DEOS replaces SDOE and they carry weapons

The new General Directorate of Financial Transactions Control Forces (DG-DEOS) of the Public Administration Authority (AADE) will be fully operational from mid-March, with the mission of tackling large-scale tax evasion and organized financial crime.

DEOS replaces - after almost 30 years of operation - the former SDOE, introducing a modern, unified and more effective tax audit system in our country. The aim is to protect public revenues, strengthen tax justice and ensure healthy competition, for the benefit of consistent citizens and businesses.

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The new Directorate is initially staffed with 370 experienced executives, who come from the audit services of the AADE and the Economic Crime Prosecution Body (SDOE). To these will be added 80 new auditors, who will be selected by a special Committee based on their formal qualifications, professional experience and operational readiness. In total, 450 auditors will undertake operational action, with continuous training in prosecution, investigation and audit methods.

"Up to arms" 450 tax inspectors

The operational teams of DEOS will be fully equipped with drones, portable cameras, special vehicles, boats, personal protective equipment, as well as modern means of communication, detection and surveillance. Before each operation, the inspectors will receive the necessary equipment, with the aim of safely and documentedly carrying out the inspections. Their constant connection with the AADE operations center will ensure immediate support and guidance in real time.

For protection reasons in their confrontation with criminal organizations, the officers will carry a gun and bulletproof vests, while they will undergo special training in drug prosecution, shooting, and even in "hand-to-hand" combat techniques and immobilization of anyone who may make threatening movements to obstruct control.

The action of DEOS will cover the entire spectrum of "serious" tax evasion, smuggling and customs evasion, as well as the control of capital movements. In addition, its scope of competence includes the illegal trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, weapons, ammunition and explosives, as well as the illegal trafficking of antiquities, monuments, relics and works of art. In this way, the protection of public revenues and the national cultural heritage is simultaneously served.
Technical equipment and AI

DEOS will be headquartered in Athens. Two Operations Rooms, operating with advanced means of intercommunication and real-time image capture, including drones, will play a central role in DEOS's business model. These rooms will support and coordinate all control levels, from planning to the completion of each operation. After each action, a debriefing evaluation will be carried out, in order to continuously improve the effectiveness of controls.

The General Directorate will be based on three categories of regional units that will operate on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week:

The Special Financial Audit Units (SFEAU) Attica and Macedonia undertake the disclosure of cases of economic crime, including investigations of cybercrime, corruption and fraud of public officials,
The Special Tax Audit Units (MEFEL) in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Heraklion focus on large-scale tax evasion and tax avoidance, while
The Special Customs Control Units (METEL) Attica and Thessaloniki will have as their main objective smuggling and tax evasion.

In the Operations Rooms, new data will be continuously collected and synthesized, utilizing modern artificial intelligence tools. This analysis will allow the identification of networks, entities, patterns and structures that reappear in multiple cases, even in real time. This facilitates the disclosure of complex and interconnected circuits, which are the main strategic objective of the new structure.

Aim for 100 actions every day

For 2026, the new audit network aims to carry out at least 30.000 audits, i.e. approximately 100 operational actions per day by the end of the year. The audits will concern, among other things, the detection and combating of tax evasion through electronic means and the internet, the tackling of intra-community VAT fraud, the freezing of bank accounts and assets where required to safeguard the interests of the State and the carrying out of specialized audits on products subject to Special Consumption Tax.

DEOS's responsibilities also include investigations into electronic financial crime and violations of intellectual property rights (illegal software, "downloading" of music and films, etc.) as well as the control of the correct implementation of provisions related to national and community subsidies and grants.

The new service will submit indictments to the competent Prosecutor for tax evasion cases that have been completed, contributing to the judicial treatment of the relevant offenses. At the same time, it expands its action to identify undeclared work and violations of insurance legislation, by informing the competent authorities.

DEOS is expected to cooperate internationally with organizations such as OLAF, INTERPOL and EUROPOL, enhancing information exchange and coordination in cross-border cases. A special department will operate as the National Office for the Recovery of Criminal Assets (ARO Greece), facilitating cooperation through international networks, such as CARIN. This will enhance the ability to identify and freeze assets derived from financial crime.

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