EU Prosecutors Send Wrong Felony Charges to Greek MPs in Embarrassing Clerical Blunder

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has scrambled to retract and reissue summonses sent to several Greek lawmakers after a clerical error in its registry falsely accused them of felony-grade offenses in the ongoing OPEKEPE agricultural subsidy fraud investigation.

The blunder affected members of the ruling New Democracy

When the summonses arrived ordering defendants to submit defense memorandums by May 22, recipients were confronted with serious felony charges. In reality, the majority face misdemeanor allegations.

EPPO sources said the secretariat had mistakenly entered inflated financial damage figures, which automatically triggered a higher offense classification under the applicable legal framework.

A formal correction was issued alongside what sources described as a "sorry for the inconvenience" note, with revised summonses dispatched to the relevant police departments.

The mistake drew immediate and sharp criticism from the New Democracy parliamentary group, whose senior members accused the European body of "haste and sloppiness."

Greek lawmakers have already raised broader concerns about EPPO's handling of the OPEKEPE dossier, with some accusing European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi of employing aggressive legal tactics against Greek officials.

Despite the administrative embarrassment, the corrected summonses carry full legal force.

All affected lawmakers remain required to submit their formal depositions before the May 22 deadline.

The OPEKEPE case has dominated Greek political life for weeks.

Parliament voted overwhelmingly last month to lift the immunity of all 13 implicated New Democracy lawmakers, who had themselves requested the waiver as a show of transparency.

Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο iefimerida.gr

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has scrambled to retract and reissue summonses sent to several Greek lawmakers after a clerical error in its registry falsely accused them of felony-grade offenses in the ongoing OPEKEPE agricultural subsidy fraud investigation.

The blunder affected members of the ruling New Democracy party among the 13 lawmakers currently under investigation.

When the summonses arrived ordering defendants to submit defense memorandums by May 22, recipients were confronted with serious felony charges. In reality, the majority face misdemeanor allegations.

EPPO sources said the secretariat had mistakenly entered inflated financial damage figures, which automatically triggered a higher offense classification under the applicable legal framework.

A formal correction was issued alongside what sources described as a "sorry for the inconvenience" note, with revised summonses dispatched to the relevant police departments.

The mistake drew immediate and sharp criticism from the New Democracy parliamentary group, whose senior members accused the European body of "haste and sloppiness."

Greek lawmakers have already raised broader concerns about EPPO's handling of the OPEKEPE dossier, with some accusing European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi of employing aggressive legal tactics against Greek officials.

Despite the administrative embarrassment, the corrected summonses carry full legal force.

All affected lawmakers remain required to submit their formal depositions before the May 22 deadline.

The OPEKEPE case has dominated Greek political life for weeks.

Parliament voted overwhelmingly last month to lift the immunity of all 13 implicated New Democracy lawmakers, who had themselves requested the waiver as a show of transparency.

Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο iefimerida.gr