The cases of four ruling New Democracy party MPs recently referred by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office over suspected involvement in Greece’s OPEKEPE EU farm subsidy scandal will be heard in four separate trials this autumn, following the implementation of a new Justice Ministry provision aimed at expediting cases involving political figures as defendants. The four MPs face misdemeanor charges.
Katerina Papakosta will be the first to appear in court on October 2. She will be tried at the Third Single-Member Court of Appeal due to special jurisdiction arising from her status as a lawyer. The trials of Christos Boukoros, Maximos Senetakis, and Kostas Skrekas will follow on October 27, October 30, and November 12, respectively.
All four MPs are accused of being accessories to breach of trust and to the illegal handling of European funds, while Papakosta also faces charges of being an accessory to false certification and attempted computer fraud.
According to the summonses served on the defendants, the charges are based largely on conversations recorded through lawful wiretaps conducted during the investigation into the case.
Several dozen people have already been convicted in separate OPEKEPE-related subsidy fraud cases. The OPEKEPE agency’s duties have been taken over by the AADE independent tax authority.
