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Lakka bay and village on Paxos island, Ionian Sea. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Back in Greece, Hollywood A-listers are giving the economy’s tourist sector a boost.

A steady stream of celebrities are cropping up among the record 30 million choosing the country for holidays this summer.



After Australian star Hugh Jakeman spending time on the Cycladic isle of Antiparos (where Tom Hanks regularly summers and has a home), Angelina Jolie and Keanu Reeves have followed suite holidaying this week on the Ionian island of Paxos.

Jolie had promised to return to Greece when in her role as ambassador of the UN refugee agency she met prime minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens last year.

The record number of tourists are expected to help the debt-stricken country’s growth prospects following its return to markets on Monday.

But .....with visitor numbers growing the economic crime police have also been swooping on islands in a bid to crack down on tax evasion by stores and restaurants.

Greece’s independent public revenues body has announced it will undertake an urgent audit of a sample 2.500 hotels country-wide amid widespread speculation that, at the height of the tourist season, they are not declaring all overnight stays. Auditors have been ordered to cross-check declared income with tax remittances filed to the state.



Restaurants are also thought to be in the firing line as the leftist-led government seeks to crack down on big time tax evaders.

Well-known eateries on popular isles such as Mykonos and Paros are said to earn as much as one million euros a month which they fail to declare. At least some of the revenue, from catering for weddings and other socialite events, is never seen in Greece as it is deposited straight into UK bank accounts....