A prison sentence of 5 years and eight months for each, suspended pending appeal, was imposed by the Three-Member Misdemeanor Court on the former president of OPEKEPE Dimitris Melas and the former director of Direct Aid and Technical Works of the Organization Athanasia Reppa, who were found guilty of harboring a criminal and breach of duty.
The court, which earlier decided to bring to trial for the felony of removal of an official document the two former senior officials of the Payments Organization, decided by majority to impose the total sentence of 5 years and eight months on each of the defendants.
With its decision, it ordered that the defendants be released until the hearing of their appeal.
In the prosecutor's view, suspension pending appeal should not have been granted to the two convicted persons, since as he said “demonstrably” some of those involved in the Tycheropoulou report, “which the two senior officials deliberately ignored”, receive 260 thousand euros in subsidies.
He also stressed that Ms. Reppa is currently serving at the Recovery Fund.
As regards the charge of removal of a document, since the court's decision for referral to the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies has the force of an indictment order, the court unanimously decided to impose on the defendants the restrictive condition of a ban on leaving the country until the hearing of the case.
For the felony charge, the prosecutor requested the imposition of a ban on leaving the country, an obligation to appear twice a month at a Police Station, payment of a financial guarantee of 100 thousand euros for each, as well as a ban on assuming any position in the public sector.
Following the prosecutor's proposal, the court is forwarding the trial records to the European Public Prosecutor's Office so that it may take note of the evidentiary material and determine whether an investigation should be conducted into the possible commission of offenses by persons such as KYD officials, OPEKEPE executives, and the political leadership in each period.
SOURCE: ANA