Proceedings are expected to move swiftly toward the start of the trial in the illegal subsidies cases involving OPEKEPE (Greek Payment Authority), with four sitting New Democracy MPs named as defendants. The process is anticipated to advance rapidly, as the charges are misdemeanor-level offenses subject to a short statute of limitations — the alleged offenses date back to 2021 — while a recent legislative amendment by the Ministry of Justice mandates that similar cases involving political figures be brought to trial within three months.
Read also: OPEKEPE: Next steps following the prosecution of MPs Skrekas, Papakosta, Senetakis, and Boukoros
In practical terms, this means the trial must be scheduled no later than November. In any case, the proceedings have now entered the phase of serving summonses to the defendants and formally setting a trial date.
As part of the investigation, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has filed misdemeanor criminal charges against four sitting New Democracy MPs: Kostas Skrekas, Christos Boukoros, Maximos Senetakis, and Katerina Papakosta. Depending on the case, the charges relate to instigation of breach of trust and instigation of the illegal management of European Union funds. Katerina Papakosta faces additional charges of instigation of false certification and attempted computer fraud.
A pivotal role in the developments was played by the expert report authored by Paraskevi Tycheropoulos, compiled at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to its findings, the financial damage in the cases examined does not exceed the €120,000 threshold required for the offenses to be classified as felonies, which is why charges were brought at the misdemeanor level. Indicatively, the report estimates the financial damage at €7,145 in the case of Kostas Skrekas, €7,753 for Katerina Papakosta, and €2,558 for Maximos Senetakis.
According to the EPPO’s announcement, the evidence gathered points to, among other things, unlawful interference in administrative and supervisory procedures, retroactive data alterations following the completion of mandatory audits, illegal intervention in on-site inspections, concealment and falsification of audit findings, as well as false certifications.
OPEKEPE: The non-political defendants
Separately, charges have also been filed against 18 non-political individuals, including former senior OPEKEPE officials, a staff member from the office of a sitting MP, an associate of a former minister, a public veterinarian, and subsidy beneficiaries. They face charges, depending on the case, of subsidy fraud, attempted computer fraud, false certification, and instigation of the above offenses.
In contrast, the case files were closed for MPs Giannis Kefalogiannis, Kostas Tsiaras, Notis Mitarakis, Dimitris Vartzopolous, Theophilos Leontaridis, Vasilis Vasiliadis, and Kostas Karamanlis, as the EPPO concluded that there was insufficient evidence to justify criminal prosecution. The cases were also archived for two former MPs, following an earlier decision by the Athens Court of First Instance Prosecutor’s Office to shelve the portion of the case concerning Charalampos Athanassiou and Tasos Chatzivasileiou.
If convicted, the defendants face prison sentences of up to five years, as well as financial penalties provided for under Greek law. In any case, the EPPO’s investigation is ongoing, and it cannot be ruled out that additional case files involving political figures may be referred to parliament in the coming months, covering other years under scrutiny.
