Regarding the very difficult issue for the government concerning OPEKEPE, Ioanna Mandrou spoke on Parapolitika 90.1 with Vassilis Skouris and Sotiris Xenakis, clarifying that Kostas Ach. Karamanlis did not participate personally in the negotiations, while Charalambos Athanasiou has been recorded requesting assistance for agricultural machinery and not for the Organization’s subsidies.
OPEKEPE: Karamanlis didn’t negotiate himself
“OPEKEPE is a very difficult issue for the government. These case files, from what we understand, have -we’re talking about the 11 MPs- a unified referral document and each one is a separate folder for each MP. Two involve felonies, Katerina Papakosta and Kostas Achillea Karamanlis,” said the journalist, adding that it is “confirmed” that Kostas Karamanlis “does not participate in any conversation, but his associates do. The felony is due to the fact that what was achieved from the conversations amounts to over 120,000 euros. He himself has no involvement, he doesn’t appear anywhere in the case. It’s his associates. There are nine other MPs with misdemeanors, not all of the same gravity. There are some who have more serious charges. And there are several (four-five) whose involvement in the case is very weak.”
Regarding the latest case file with Charalambos Athanasiou and Tasos Chatzivasiliou, Ms. Mandrou clarified that not all legal connections to OPEKEPE subsidies are mentioned. For example, the wiretap didn’t record Charalambos Athanasiou talking about sheep and goats, while two others were recorded discussing organic farming.
Mandrou on Athanasiou: “It relates to subsidies for purchasing farm machinery”
Specifically regarding Charalambos Athanasiou, Ioanna Mandrou stated that “from what I learned, it relates to a subsidy for purchasing farm machinery for a citizen in the Lemnos area. […] The wiretap was recording. Why was it recording? Because the wiretap was monitoring Melas, who was then… the president of OPEKEPE, and other OPEKEPE officials, who had been reported to justice at the time for making illegal financial arrangements. […] This, for example, with Charalambos Athanasiou, is a conversation by Melas –who is the defendant and is already being tried for other matters. Because these OPEKEPE case files are endless. Look, most case files are based on 2021 and where legal connections need to be made – you monitor. That’s where the material starts from.”
“We certainly expect more (case files). There’s no doubt about it. I assume they’ll be ready by summer. I don’t know the process each case file follows from the European Prosecutor’s Office because they’re not only investigating OPEKEPE. They have European programs in any sector. That’s their job, that’s what they investigate,” she concluded.
