The testimony of the former head of the Direct Payments Directorate of OPEKEPE, Paraskevi Tycheropoulou, continues from 10 AM Thursday at the parliamentary investigative committee. Throughout her testimony and in response to committee members’ questions, Mrs. Tycheropoulou, who is a “key” figure in the case, described a climate of targeting, threats and intimidation against her. “Yes, I’m afraid. I can’t say I’m not afraid,” she said in response to a question. It should be noted that during the session, the leader of Plefsi Eleftherias attended the committee, replacing Alexandros Kazamias. When she asked Mrs. Tycheropoulou about the disputed dialogue in the OPEKEPE case file between “Frappe” and Kyriakos Bambasidis, she characteristically responded: “I realize what danger I’ve been exposed to. It means you don’t respect and don’t care about any living being.”
New Democracy sources: “Tycheropoulou’s testimony raised more questions than it answered”
ND sources stated: “Without substantial answers to the critical questions posed to her at the investigative committee, witness Paraskevi Tycheropoulou’s testimony continues at this hour. It’s characteristic that her testimony raised more questions than it answered, as it moved along lines of personal vindication, without clear explanations for her actions as OPEKEPE director,” emphasized “blue” sources commenting on Mrs. Tycheropoulou’s testimony so far. “Additionally, Mrs. Tycheropoulou refused to give direct answers about the case of the 78-year-old woman from Kozani, for whom the prosecutor seeks repayment of nearly 1,000,000 euros. Initially she claimed ignorance, then after questions from ND rapporteur Makarios Lazaridis, when she admitted it was the same case, she insisted that ‘she was rightfully paid’!” the ND sources emphasized.
According to the same sources, “it was striking that she tried to shift responsibility to service officials and appear as persecuted, attributing the criticism she receives to ‘personal attacks.’ Her reference that ‘Mr. Salata’s advanced age may have contributed to him being misled’ is considered indicative, a phrase showing intent for personal disparagement.”
“At the same time, the witness, who is in close cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, chose to attribute OPEKEPE’s problems to everything that New Democracy has been pointing out for years and the government is working systematically to correct. Through the confidential report she submitted in 2020, she recognized that the minimal—often fictitious or zero—cost of pasture rentals, combined with the 21.5 euros per acre allocated through national reserve distribution, serves as the main incentive for hunting so-called ‘joker’ rights,” the ND sources argued.
“Furthermore, according to her, the phenomenon where many national reserve rights are concentrated in ‘closed groups’ of applications from specific areas or reception centers, involving organization employees, technical consultants and declaration reception centers, was one of the main causes leading to today’s case. Essentially, Tycheropoulou herself confirmed the pathologies that chronically undermined OPEKEPE’s operation and that the New Democracy government is trying to eliminate through institutional interventions, payment transparency and strict controls. The system of fictitious pastures, false declarations and closed circuits in reception centers are exactly what broke down the farmer’s trust relationship with the state. These are what we’re correcting today,” the ND sources concluded.
