Former OPEKEPE chief Dimitris Melas and ex‑director Athanasia Repka found guilty

A Greek court convicted former OPEKEPE president Dimitris Melas and former director of Immediate Assistance and Technical Projects Athanasia Repka for two offences: the concealment of a document containing tax‑identification‑number checks on alleged fraudulent farm subsidy claims, and the aiding and abetting of a criminal. The judges ruled the concealment to be a criminal act, referring that part of the case to the Criminal Appeals Court because the estimated damage exceeded €120,000.

During the hearing, the prosecutor had asked that the concealment charge be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony, citing systematic fraud that had inflated the number of livestock farms and misdirected EU subsidies. The court rejected the request to change the charge but affirmed guilt on both counts. Sentencing has not yet been announced.

The case stems from an investigation led by auditor Parashke Tichero‑poulo, who documented irregularities in subsidy allocations and reported them to the prosecutor’s office. The verdict follows months of testimony about alleged collusion between OPEKEPE officials and producers seeking unlawful payments.