The Athens Three-Member Misdemeanor Court has referred former OPKEPE president Dimitris Melas—and former head of Technical Controls and Direct Aid at the organization, Athanasia Repa—to the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies. The decision follows allegations that both officials deliberately suppressed an investigative report by ParaskEví Tyxeropoulou concerning false subsidy claims by 80 ineligible beneficiaries.
Escalation to Felony Charges
The court fully adopted the prosecutor’s recommendation, upgrading the charge of document misappropriation—levelled against Melas (who served as OPKEPE president from 2021–2022 and is a New Democracy MP) and Repa—to a felony. The judge stated that ‘serious indications emerged of criminal acts of a felonious nature, with total damage exceeding €120,000’, justifying referral to the higher court.
The same charge was also elevated to felony status for Repa, who previously led technical inspections and direct aid disbursements at OPKEPE—the Greek Organization for the Management and Development of Agricultural Holdings.
Convictions on Other Counts
On two additional charges—harbouring a criminal and breach of duty—both defendants were convicted. The presiding judge noted during the reading of the verdict that ‘serious suspicions arose of a systemic fraud and scandal involving individuals who had no right to subsidies’. According to the court’s findings, Melas and Repa failed to carry out their legal obligations by burying Tyxeropoulou’s report, which flagged 80 ‘red-flag’ tax identification numbers (AFMs) linked to fraudulent applications—yet no further investigation or action followed.
The court granted both defendants the mitigating factor of prior good conduct, by majority vote. One judge dissented.
Prosecutor’s Strong Stance
Two days earlier, the Athens prosecutor—described in local media as delivering a ‘slap-in-the-face’ indictment—had urged conviction on all counts and specifically requested the document misappropriation charge be treated as a felony, requiring trial before a higher court. Prosecutor Anastasios Panagakos delivered a sharp closing argument, accusing both Melas and Repa of intentional concealment of Tyxeropoulou’s report, which initially listed 99 and later 41 suspicious AFMs. He argued the suppression was aimed at shielding beneficiaries from scrutiny and preventing recovery of unlawfully paid funds.
‘Instead of forwarding Tyxeropoulou’s report to judicial authorities—and halting payments to these beneficiaries—Repa, via official correspondence, argued the report…’ the text cuts off, leaving the full justification incomplete.