The HDPA imposed a €30,000 fine on New Democracy for inadequate data protection practices and an additional €10,000 fine, after it was determined that the voter list had been leaked by the party’s former Secretary for Expatriate Affairs, Nikos Theodoropoulos. Furthermore, both Theodoropoulos and Menios Koromilas, then the party’s Organisational Secretary for Local Government and Crisis Management, were fined €10,000 each for sharing sensitive data.
According to the HDPA’s investigation, the file in question—containing personal information of expatriate voters—was illegally taken from the Ministry of the Interior and shared with Koromilas, who then forwarded it to Theodoropoulos, who in turn sent it to MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou. The HDPA determined that this mishandling of the file violated several data protection laws and led to the illicit dissemination of personal voter information.
Key findings of the Data Protection Authority
The HDPA’s ruling stated that New Democracy had failed to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It highlighted that significant party operations were carried out on personal devices of party officials, which lacked sufficient oversight regarding the handling of personal data.
The HDPA noted that while New Democracy had official policies in place for its internal network, these policies did not cover the use of personal devices by party officials. This gap in policy, the Authority concluded, contributed to the mishandling and unauthorised dissemination of the voter data. The HDPA also criticised New Democracy for not investigating the incident thoroughly enough after discovering that two of its officials were involved in the illegal transmission of personal data.
Despite New Democracy’s claim that the party did not have the illicit file in its systems, the HDPA raised concerns that the party could have unofficially and illegally possessed the file, as party officials were found to have been in possession of it.
New Democracy’s response and appeal
In response to the ruling, New Democracy sources emphasised that the fine was not related directly to the leak of expatriate voters’ emails but rather to a parallel investigation into the party’s general compliance with data protection legislation. The party stated that it disagrees with the HDPA’s conclusions and will appeal the decision to the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court.
New Democracy argued that it has already demonstrated compliance with GDPR regulations and rejected the HDPA’s assertion that the party should monitor personal devices of its officials. According to party sources, the HDPA’s suggestion that New Democracy should control these devices was “manifestly unenforceable and even illegal.”
The party also highlighted that the decision was not unanimous, with some HDPA members voting against the ruling and advocating for New Democracy’s exoneration. “It is clearly stated that New Democracy had no involvement in the email leak and that none of these actions were carried out under its orders or on its behalf,” the party’s statement concluded.
This ruling follows a broader investigation into the Asimakopoulou scandal, which saw a massive leak of emails and sensitive information from expatriate voters, and for which the former MEP remains unrepentant.
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