The Council of State (CoS), Greece’s Supreme Court on administrative matters, has launched an investigation into the judicial handling of serious cases involving the awarding of public works contracts.
According to sources, the emergency inspection focuses on high-profile cases involving public construction projects in the region of Halkidiki. Allegations have surfaced accusing public officials of illegal activities, similar to the corruption scandal recently uncovered within the Urban Planning Authority of Rhodes.
The head of the Justice Inspectorate, Supreme Court Vice President Asimina Yfanti, is personally overseeing the inquiry.
Authorities have already brought charges against individuals for establishing criminal organizations linked to public works projects. Although the state employees and others implicated have been charged, they have all been released pending trial.
The investigation will reportedly focus on whether the legal authorities in charge of these cases made the appropriate and legally mandated decisions. Inspectors are in the process of reviewing the conduct and decisions of the judges involved to determine if due legal process was properly followed.
A similar inspection by Greece’s Supreme Court is underway concerning the judicial management of the Rhodes Urban Planning Authority corruption case. Despite the serious nature of the crimes and extensive evidence—including the seizure of thousands of euros in cash from suspects’ homes and findings from the Anti-Money Laundering Authority linking properties and funds to relatives of the accused—the suspects were released under restrictive conditions rather than being held in custody.
Authorities are scrutinizing whether judicial officials adequately responded to the severity and volume of incriminating evidence when making their decisions.
