European prosecutors charge 22 people in Greece, including four MPs, with involvement in EU agricultural funds fraud.
Eleni Stamatoukou
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, EPPO, announced on Thursday that it has indicted 22 people, including four Greek MPs, over the misuse of EU agricultural subsidies by the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid, OPEKEPE.
All 22 are indicted for acts allegedly committed in 2021.
EPPO stated that its investigations had revealed “unlawful interventions in administrative and inspection procedures, retrospective alterations of data following the completion of mandatory controls, unlawful interference with on-the-spot inspections, the concealment and manipulation of inspection findings, and false certifications”.
Three MPs are accused of instigation to commit abuse of trust and mismanagement of EU funds. One is also accused of instigation to commit false attestation and attempted computer fraud.
“The four MPs who are being referred to trial for misdemeanour offences are, of course, presumed innocent, as the EPPO itself explicitly points out. In any case, only the courts will decide, after evaluating all the data, including reports that have re-determined the amounts of potential damage,” said the Greek government’s spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, on Facebook.
Media reports named the four MPs as Kostas Skrekas, Christos Boukoros, Maximos Senetakis and Katerina Papakosta.
In a statement to the media, Skrekas stated that he trusts the Greek judiciary and calls “for the immediate trial of the case so that the truth is fully restored and no shadow remains”.
Others charged include the former OPEKEPE president, indicted for five counts of abuse of trust, the former Director General for Direct Payments, for two counts of abuse of trust, and two former OPEKEPE regional directors, for abuse of trust and unlawful management of EU funds.
EPPO has also indicted an employee of the political office of a serving MP, an associate of a former minister, a veterinary official, and several beneficiaries of the funds who are accused of misdemeanour offences.
If found guilty, EPPO said, the defendants face “custodial sentences of up to five years’ imprisonment and the applicable criminal fines provided for under Greek law”, adding that a lack of evidence had cleared nine MPs – seven active MPs and two former ones.
The case is the same one for which the EPPO asked the Greek parliament to lift the immunity of 13 ruling New Democracy MPs. Greece’s parliament voted in April to approve the EPPO request.
The 13 MPs were Skrekas, Boukoros, Senetakis and Papakosta, the MPs were Kostas Karamanlis, Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Notis Mitarachi, Kostas Tsiaras, Dimitris Vartzopoulos, Lakis Vasileiadis, Theofilos Leontaridis, Charalampos Athanasiou and Tasos Hatzivasileiou.
All of them denied any wrongdoing.
The EPPO said it was continuing its investigation into alleged criminal acts committed in different years; among those under investigation are three former MPs.
