In her testimony, Tycheropoulou described the operation of an organised network of sworn employees within OPEKEPE who, in cooperation with specific producers, misused European funds and manipulated the National Reserve. According to the witness, these officials concealed audit findings that documented extensive irregularities, overturned completed audits without justification, and ignored proposals aimed at addressing illegal practices.
The two former senior officials are on trial for document embezzlement, harbouring a criminal, and complicity in breach of duty. According to the indictment, in November 2020 they concealed an audit report prepared by Tycheropoulou, who was then responsible for identifying unduly paid amounts from the National Reserve, following instructions from the then president of OPEKEPE, Grigoris Varras. Although the report documented serious irregularities uncovered during 2020 audits, it was never forwarded to the judiciary, as Mr Varras had in the meantime left the organisation.
Tycheropoulou testified that her audit identified serious irregularities linked to 48 specific tax identification numbers, mainly concerning pastureland, with strong indications of artificial creation of entitlements. She described the existence of “two tendencies” within OPEKEPE: a dominant majority that insisted everything was functioning properly, and a small minority of employees who had been warning for years that systemic problems existed.
Responding to questions from the bench, the witness stated that the majority of executives belonged to the first group, while those raising concerns were marginalised and discredited. She also noted that serious concerns about the organisation’s information system had already been raised as early as 2010.
The witness referred to cases of employees who were effectively punished for insisting on reporting illegal declarations. She cited the example of an auditor who first exposed large-scale irregularities in Crete and subsequently faced threats, intimidation, disciplinary sanctions, and even vandalism of his car, without receiving any institutional protection. According to Tycheropoulou, similar practices of targeting and discrediting were also used against her.
Currently serving as a special associate of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in two cases, Tycheropoulou was extensively questioned on the management of the National Reserve, which is primarily funded through a 3% reduction in Basic Income Support and is intended for young and newly entering farmers. She described the distribution of the National Reserve by OPEKEPE as “the biggest scandal in the history of the organisation”.
She further testified that after submitting her findings to Mr Melas and four other executives, she was transferred to the Education Department. Subsequently, the audits concerning the 48 tax numbers were re-examined ex officio, without any objections from the producers, and with different outcomes. Most of the original audits were overturned, with no requirement to record justification in the system.
Tycheropoulou stressed that none of the executives who received her findings requested clarifications, while a separate document she had submitted, proposing concrete measures to address the irregularities, was completely ignored. As she told the court, “they threw it in the trash”.
Following her testimony, the court decided to request the case file held by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office concerning OPEKEPE, in order to determine whether criminal proceedings have been initiated against the 48 producers named in the report. It also ordered the summons of former OPEKEPE presidents Grigoris Varras and Theofanis Pappas, former director general A. Lambropoulos, and two former auditors who were allegedly removed from their positions under adverse circumstances.
The trial will continue on 16 March.
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