Judicial conviction of former OPEKEPE officials in illegal subsidies case
Athens Three-Member Court of Misdemeanours found former president Dimitri Melas and former director Athanasia Reppа guilty, referring the document suppression count to the Court of Felonies due to substantial material damage.
Judicial conviction of former OPEKEPE officials in illegal subsidies case
Athens Three-Member Court of Misdemeanours reached a verdict against two former officials of OPEKEPE. The former president of the Organisation and the former director of Direct Subsidies were found responsible for their handling of a case involving inspections relating to illegal subsidies.
The judicial decision adopted the prosecutor's submission. For the offences of harbouring a criminal and breach of duty, the court imposed a conviction. However, regarding document suppression—specifically the concealment of a report from an employee that was key to the case—the act was classified as a felony. The reason was that the financial damage exceeded €120,000, so the matter was referred to the higher court.
According to the reasoning read out, in 2018 an unusual increase had been observed in pastureland figures. There were indications of organised fraud and distribution of funds to producers through illegal procedures. The predecessor of one of the defendants at the organisation had ordered an inspection, which was carried out by an employee and resulted in a related report. Despite knowledge of the problems, the two individuals did not proceed with the necessary steps.
The judicial decision states that for a period of one year and eight months, the defendants provided cover for approximately 80 violators. Their actions had an impact at European level and caused damage to the country's reputation within the European Union.
The court granted, by narrow majority, the mitigating factor of previous law-abiding conduct. The prosecutor had opposed this, arguing that it was not appropriate in this particular case. Members of the audience reacted strongly, characterising the decision as unjust. Both defendants had denied the charges during the proceedings.
Source: Newsbeast
Source: Newsbeast