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Eight people have been convicted for operating a counterfeit currency workshop that produced fake US dollar bills in a warehouse in Kordelio near Thessaloniki.
The court imposed sentences of up to five years and four months, depending on each defendant’s level of involvement.
The case dates to February 2019, when police in Kilkis uncovered the operation and traced it to a warehouse equipped for producing counterfeit banknotes.
Authorities said tens of thousands of fake US dollars were printed and some were circulated in northern Greece, sold below their face value.
Investigators seized printing presses, metal plates and other equipment used in counterfeiting.
The defendants denied the charges. Some claimed the notes were promotional items, including bills allegedly bearing a PAOK football club logo, while others said they believed the currency came from former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s assets.
The court granted suspensive effect to the appeal, meaning the sentences will not be immediately enforced.