A prison sentence of 5 years and 8 months for each, suspended pending appeal, were imposed by the Three-Member Misdemeanor Court on the former president of OPEKEPE, Dimitris Mela, and the organization’s former director of Direct Aid and Technical Projects, Athanasia Repa, who were found guilty of harboring a criminal and breachbreach of duty.
The court, which had earlier decided to bring the two former executives of the payment agency to trial on the felony charge of embezzlement of an official document, decided by a majority vote to impose a combined sentence of 5 years and 8 months on each of the defendants.
In its ruling, the court ordered that the defendants be released pending the outcome of their appeal.
In the prosecutor’s view, the two convicted defendants should not have been granted a stay of execution pending their appeal, since, as he stated, it has been “proven” that some of those implicated in the Tycheropoulou report—“which the two senior officials deliberately ignored”—are receiving 260,000 euros in subsidies.
She also emphasized that Ms. Reppa currently works at the Recovery Fund.
Regarding the charge of document theft, since the court’s decision to refer the case to the Three-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies carries the weight of a final judgment, the court unanimously decided to impose on the defendants the restrictive condition of a ban on leaving the country until the case is heard.
Regarding the felony charge, the prosecutor requested that the defendants be prohibited from leaving the country, required to report to a police station twice a month, payment of a cash bond of 100,000 euros each, and a ban on holding any public office.
Following a recommendation by the prosecutor, the court is forwarding the trial transcripts to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office so that it may review the evidence and determine whether an investigation should be conducted into possible crimes committed by individuals such as KYD officials, OPEKEPE executives, and the political leadership at the time.
SOURCE: APE