The Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Court of First Instance has ruled that the case file should be closed, the part of the OPEKEPE case that was opened to investigate possible criminal liability of current members of the ruling party ,Charalambos Athanasiou and Tasos Hatzivassiliou, as well as the former president of the Agricultural Payments Organization, Dimitris Melas.
The Prosecutor’s Office conducted a preliminary investigation, following the transmission of a relevant document from the European Delegated Prosecutors, to investigate the possibility that the two members of parliament committed the offense of moral instigation in breach of duty, an act “allegedly committed from September 9, 2021, to December 8, 2021, by Dimitris Melas, son of Stavros, president of OPEKEPE during the period in question,” as specifically stated in the Prosecutor’s Office’s referral.
The case file was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of First Instance for investigation, as this specific offense does not fall under the jurisdiction of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. After conducting an investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for First Instance Courts concluded that there is no evidence of moral complicity in a breach of duty regarding these individuals and therefore ruled that the case file should be closed.
After their parliamentary immunity was lifted by the House, the two members of parliament were summoned as suspects to provide explanations as part of the prosecutor’s investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office is also closing the case against Mr. Mela, who is considered the principal perpetrator of the act under investigation. The Appeals Prosecutor’s Office will decide whether to confirm the dismissal of the case.
SOURCE: APE