ATHENS – A prosecutor wants Greek-Cypriot pop singer Michalis Hatzigiannis charged with failing to declare 5 million euros in income.

Evsevia Kormikari has asked a council of prosecutors to reject an appeal by not to stand trial for not declaring the income from 2010-11.

The singer is also accused of money-laundering because he allegedly transferred the cash, said to be the product of illegal activities, to Cyprus.

It wasn’t explained why he doesn’t want to face the court or what the source of the money was but it’s common in Greece for public figures to escape prosecution, especially over tax cheating which successive government have vowed to crack down on but which none have.

In 2010, Forbes listed Hatzigiannis as the 22nd most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fifth highest ranked singer. Hatzigiannis is also known for representing Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 but finished only 11th.