Former New Democracy politician Popi Semertzidou claims she and her family are victims of a conspiracy, in her first reaction after the Anti-Money Laundering Authority froze assets worth at least 1.5 million euros in connection with the OPEKEPE scandal.
Popi Semertzidou’s first reaction to asset freeze in OPEKEPE subsidy scandal
“I just learned from you about the asset freeze. I want them to leave us alone. We weren’t involved anywhere and we became target number one. Do you understand this? We weren’t involved anywhere, they just dragged us into it and we became a target from everywhere. We’re not among those involved with the 1.7 million euros who had their money confiscated, we hadn’t been tried, those who were tried and our names came up, when we had no involvement anywhere,” Semertzidou claimed, speaking to MEGA. “I can’t understand it. Excuse my tone, it’s not your fault, but I’m outraged and the worst part is: Doesn’t anyone think about our parents? It makes a terrible impression on me, what can I say, I don’t know. Now I was returning cars and the channels call me and say: ‘They froze your cars.’ OK, whatever you say guys, what can I do now? I was renting cars, now I didn’t give them, I returned a car, I don’t know,” she also said.
Timeline of Popi Semertzidou’s asset freeze in OPEKEPE scandal
During the period 2019-2024, those under investigation received approximately 2.6 million euros through subsidies. Of this amount, 1.5 million euros is considered to have not been used according to its declared purpose, according to authoritative sources. Consequently, the Authority decided to freeze not only the personal assets of the two central figures, but also those of their relatives, as well as the assets of the single-member LLC they had established. The freeze includes, besides 11 properties, agricultural plots, land parcels and luxury vehicles: one Ferrari, one Porsche, as well as another 30 cars that had been rented and were being used commercially. The report submitted to the European Prosecutor’s Office refers to serious crimes, including fraud and money laundering, requesting investigation into whether and to what degree they were committed by the persons involved. At the same time, competent audit services were asked to examine the remaining amount –approximately 1 million euros– to determine whether its collection was made using fake or fictitious invoices.
