Incredible allegations against Paraskevi Tycheropoulou were made by former OPEKEPE president Kyriakos Babassidis. During his testimony before the parliamentary investigative committee, he referred to documents regarding illegal payments that were hidden in a cabinet, emphasizing that since Mrs. Tycheropoulou refused to hand them over, the organization’s officials proceeded to break it open using chainsaws.
OPEKEPE revelations: Who kept the evidence cabinet locked
The specific cabinet, he said, had been assigned to Paraskevi Tycheropoulou, who was head of two departments responsible for agricultural subsidy payments and inspections. “This was incompatible according to the action plan and we had to remove her from one position. Nothing was done vindictively” he stated.
She refused to hand them over
As he explained, Mrs. Tycheropoulou refused to hand over the contents to the new payments director, resulting in an extrajudicial notice being sent to her. He then referred to various individuals, specifically a 73-year-old woman from Kozani who, as he said, was illegally paid 800,000 euros. She declared 1,006 head of livestock but actually had 56. “Inside this cabinet there was this illegal hierarchical act concerning her with 1,006 declared animals while she had 56. We opened it following all procedures and you know what else we found inside? We found 13 hierarchical appeals. One of which belonged to the 73-year-old from Kozani with the 800 thousand euros“.
As he argued, Mrs. Tycheropoulou had accepted the appeals through illegal procedures, resulting in notifications to the ministry, the Supreme Court prosecutor, and the European Prosecutor’s Office. “In a cabinet belonging to the service, the president has the right to investigate. We had October payments and without internal audit, no payment could be made. The director wouldn’t hand over the cabinet to her successor to obstruct payments. The cabinet was opened and the material was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office“, Kyriakos Babassidis concluded.
“Misunderstanding“
Meanwhile, referring to the involvement of his name in conversations recorded by police wiretaps, he spoke of a “misunderstanding“, emphasizing that he has not committed any illegal act, and added that “all payments were legal“. Finally, during his examination it emerged that farmers had been informed before inspections were carried out.
