Greek deputy minister resigns over singer husband's millions in tax debts

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's deputy tourism minister resigned after tax officials said her husband, a popular singer and former film star, owes millions of euros in unpaid taxes, a major embarrassment for the cash-strapped government which is waging a war on tax evasion.

A government statement Monday said Angela Gerekou — a 51-year-old former actress who once posed topless for a Greek men's magazine — stepped down hours after the scandal broke in a daily newspaper.

"Angela Gerekou has submitted her resignation for reasons of sensitivity and sensibility, so that there cannot be the slightest pretext to hurt the government," the statement said. It added that Gerekou claimed she had no involvement in the tax affairs of her husband, Tolis Voskopoulos.

Greece, which is debt-ridden, narrowly staved off bankruptcy after a €110 billion ($136 billion) loan bailout from its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund, whose first installments will allow repayment of €9 billion ($11 billion) in debt that matures on Wednesday.

To secure the loans, the center-left government passed painful austerity measures, cutting salaries and pensions, raising consumer taxes and pledging to crack down on rampant tax evasion.

The finance ministry confirmed that Voskopoulos faces criminal prosecution for €5.5 million ($6.8 million) in unpaid taxes and fines. It said the cases have not yet come to court, but Voskopoulos' real estate assets have been frozen.

A ministry statement said an investigation is under way into the delay in collecting Voskopoulos' debts, which were incurred from 2006 onwards.

Voskopoulos, 70, is one of the best-known representatives of Greece's older generation of popular singers and nightclub stars. His crooning lifted him to fame with the 1969 record "Agonia" (Agony), which sold 300,000 copies. He has released dozens of records and he appeared in several films during the 1960s and 70s, including the 1971 hit "My Brothers, Footloose Tramps."

Greek authorities recently published the names of alleged high-profile tax cheats, and are seeking to catch tax evaders by using satellite photos to spot undeclared swimming pools — an indicator of taxable wealth.

The government has also pledged to make collection of the estimated billions in unpaid taxes a priority.

Gerekou held the important tourism portfolio, and she quit at the start of the vacation season, with hoteliers worried by recent cancellations following violent demonstrations in Athens.

Before resigning, she refused to comment on the newspaper claims about Voskopoulos, saying the question was "unfortunate." Gerekou later said she had stepped down "to prevent, during these particularly hard times, my husband's affair being used for generalized accusations against the government."

Both she and Voskopoulos said the tax debts arose before they had even met.

A former lawmaker, Gerekou was appointed after the Socialists won election in a landslide last October.

No replacement has been announced.

Gerekou's resignation was the second such setback for the Socialists, who came to power pledging to fight corruption. A deputy interior minister resigned in December over claims he tried to secure job favors for military and police personnel.