About 50 people are scheduled to begin appearing before investigators at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Athens on Thursday, as part of a widening investigation into suspect farm subsidies distributed in 2021 through the state payments agency OPEKEPE.
Among those summoned are officials from OPEKEPE, Greece’s national agricultural payments agency, including its former president, Dimitris Melas, as well as senior directors responsible for direct aid and rural development. Farmers, private individuals and owners of rural data entry centers who allegedly sought intervention to secure improper payments are also under scrutiny.
Eleven members of parliament from the ruling New Democracy party are scheduled to appear on Friday, following a parliamentary vote to lift their immunity from prosecution. European Prosecutors Popi Papandreou and Dionysis Mouzakis, who are handling the case, will hear their statements. While Parliament has since lifted the immunity of 13 New Democracy lawmakers in total, the 11 appearing Friday are those named in the current case files under active investigation by the EPPO.
Nine of the lawmakers – including former ministers Kostas Tsiaras, Notis Mitarakis, Kostas Skrekas and Giannis Kefalogiannis – face misdemeanor-level charges, while two others, Aikaterini Papakosta and Kostas Karamanlis, face felony charges. The charges include incitement to breach of trust, computer fraud and issuing false certifications linked to the approval and payment of subsidies.
