Only EPPO can investigate OPEKEPE, Supreme Court says

The Supreme Court said successful an announcement that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is the lone competent authorization for investigating OPEKEPE, the Greek bureau managing EU subsidies, including farming subsidies.

“Only the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is authorized to investigate, prosecute, and notation for trial transgression offenses that interaction the fiscal interests of the European Union,” the statement read.

The announcement was issued successful effect to questions submitted by MPs from PASOK and SYRIZA, who had criticized the Supreme Court for allegedly failing to initiate an probe into the OPEKEPE case.

The authorities announced Tuesday it will dissolve OPEKEPE and transfer its functions to the tax authority, pursuing years of corruption scandals and European Union investigations into amerciable subsidy payments.

On May 19, prosecutors from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), accompanied by 20 officers from the Hellenic Police’s anti-corruption unit, conducted an unprecedented raid connected OPEKEPE’s headquarters. The cognition uncovered a widespread strategy involving fictitious pastureland claims used to fraudulently get EU cultivation funds.