Four sitting members of parliament from New Democracy are set to stand trial with the start of the new judicial year, after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office brought criminal charges against them last week over the OPEKEPE illegal farm-subsidy scandal.
Because the alleged offenses are misdemeanors and face an approaching statute-of-limitations deadline, prosecutors moved quickly to schedule the trials, which will effectively fall within the pre-election period. These are the first cases involving political figures to be scheduled under the Justice Ministry’s new fast-track provision, which requires misdemeanor trials to be set within three months of charges being filed so cases against public officials are resolved quickly and without lingering doubt.
The trials open on October 2 with the case against MP Katerina Papakosta, who will be tried by the Third Single-Member Court of Appeal due to special jurisdiction tied to her status as a lawyer. Christos Boukouros’s trial is set for October 27, Maximos Senetakis’s for October 30, and the round concludes on November 12 with the case against Kostas Skrekas.
Based on what’s been made public, the four MPs face misdemeanor charges that vary by case, generally involving instigating breach of trust and instigating illegal management of European funds. Papakosta additionally faces charges of instigating false certification and attempted computer fraud. Alongside the political figures, 18 non-political defendants are also being prosecuted, including OPEKEPE officials, political-office staff, and farmers.
