Jumbo denies knowledge of ex-vice chairman's activities

According to the group, it had not been aware of any such transactions, either by Papaevangelou or by members of his family.

According to Jumbo's announcement, Papaevangelou was a minor stock holder and former deputy vice-chairman of the board who was only responsible for the company's compliance with market regulations and its daily transactions with authorities, public services, local government and utility providers.

"He had absolutely no right to issue orders or sign for issues concerning the company's commercial or financial activities and has not used the company's means of payment for his private business activities. In the few cases where he has represented the company, he has always been given special authorisation with specific orders from the board," the company said.

Due to his position in the firm as market compliance officer, it added, in recent years he did not travel to China on Jumbo's behalf.

In the same announcement, Jumbo noted that there were no hints of irregularity or illegality in what was known about Papaevangelou's real estate purchases prior to the press report published on October 29, after which the company immediately requested his resignation, which was formally accepted by Jumbo's board chairman on Wednesday.

It also clarified that Jumbo has never collaborated with B.W. Binswager Evaluation Services Ltd or any other company mentioned in Thursday's press reports concerning Papaevangelou and his family, while it has never asked for evaluations of its property assets.

According to one of Papaevangelou's companies, Destiny Ependytiki, meanwhile, the press reports concerning his activities with Chinese investors are untrue and biased.

"Apart of ignorance of the subject, the clear goal for certain parties is, on the one hand, to confuse public opinion and, on the other hand, to harm the standing of Destiny Ependytiki, its staff and its owner," the company said.

The company said it had complied with all legal requirements in its operation, in accordance with the aim and goals of the Golden Visa programme for third-country nationals, as set out by law. It also noted its cooperation with two official credit institutions of Greece since its first day, with full respect for their operating rules and having secured written approval for the use of all financial tools, in accordance with the law.

"Specifically, the use of POS was fully legal and every transaction through them was for legal reasons, with full transparency and approval," it added, while noting that the Destiny Ependytiki and its activities were in no way linked to Jumbo.

A supreme court judge on Wednesday ordered an investigation into Papaevangelou's activities and into alleged irregularities in the sale of real estate to Chinese investors reported by the press.

According to Chinese authorities, Papaevangelou had allegedly set up a personal company through which he sold to Chinese investors properties worth 40 million euros in total. The sales were transacted through bank cards and point of service (POS) machines. As China had imposed capital controls, Chinese buyers circumvented the controls through POS transactions, qualifying for the Greek investment incentive program that grants ten-year residence permits (visas) for investments of over 250,000 euros.

National Bank and the European Central Bank are also investigating the case separately.