All eyes are turning to room 223 of Parliament, as the two central figures in the OPEKEPE scandal case file are set to cross its threshold: George Xylouris, nicknamed “Frappe“, and Andreas Stratakis, known as the “Butcher”.
George Xylouris appears before OPEKEPE investigative committee
George Xylouris’s name appears throughout a large portion of the voluminous case file that has been forwarded to Parliament, while numerous witnesses who have testified before the investigative committee have referenced him. Many of these witnesses have spoken about the aggressive behavior he displayed during contacts with both OPEKEPE officials and personnel from the Ministry of Rural Development. There is also great interest in how and whether he will respond to what former head of the Organization’s Direct Subsidies directorate, Paraskevi Tycheropoulos, said about him. It should be noted that Ms. Tycheropoulos had revealed that she had received threats from “Frappe”.
Furthermore, George Xylouris is a person who has recently come under investigation by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, as unexplained wealth of approximately 2.5 million euros was discovered. The investigation relates to the period 2021-2023 and revealed significant discrepancies between declared income and his actual financial status.
OPEKEPE: The “Butcher’s” testimony
Besides George Xylouris, Andreas Stratakis, also known as the “Butcher”, will appear before the 31-member investigative committee. He is also included in the case file forwarded to Parliament. Recently speaking on Open TV, Andreas Stratakis said that “I have never learned to hide in my life”. “I would gladly go to speak and understand what it is that I have done. What are the charges, what exactly am I involved in and why is my name being heard throughout Greece,” he had emphasized. He also said that “I am a farmer, I have olive trees, sheep and goats and a family business, a butcher shop”. He also added that “I am among the poorest farmers. In 2015 I received 11,800 euros and today I received 4,300. My wife is a hotel employee. This is our life”.
Meanwhile, in an interview with SKAI, he had stated that he has no connection with illegal subsidies. “They want to hastily present me as the worst thing that exists or in any case as having a major connection with illegal subsidies. The truth is that I have no connection and I am very sorry because those who say this and are journalists from Athens either have read the case file very well and what they say is said out of ulterior motives or they haven’t read it at all. Because if they had read it they would see that I have no participation, no telephone recordings, I never made any phone calls and no one ever called me. I never spoke about subsidies,” he had argued.
As reported, Andreas Stratakis was an advisor to Makis Voridis at the Ministry of Rural Development and a close friend of George Xylouris or “Frappe”. “I went to the minister in November ’19 and left on January 5, ’21. When the minister left, I left too. My responsibility concerned cooperatives and cooperative schemes. Beyond that we had nothing. We simply connected with the minister through a friendship relationship and he even baptized one of my grandchildren. This of course, according to some, and especially for SYRIZA, is a major misconduct, for Makis Voridis to baptize my grandson. It’s a serious crime. They’ve said it several times,” he said about Makis Voridis in the same interview.
“I am neither a local nor a national informant”
“I am neither a local informant nor a national informant. There are 10 people from here to Evros and every day you see them on the channels and they come out and analyze and accuse everyone else. Go ask them if there are illegal subsidies. I cannot say if there are, because I don’t know what they mean by illegality. What is the illegality? Is it illegal for a producer who cultivates 100 acres of land but receives subsidies for 101? Is that the illegality or is it illegal for someone who has nothing and receives money? I don’t know, it’s not my job,” he had emphasized in another part of his interview.
