With seven defendants, for fraud in a degree of misdemeanor, sitting in the dock began before the One -Member Court of Appeal, the trial of one of the cases of irregular aid of the Payment and Audit of Community Aid and Guarantee Aid (Guarantees Aid (OPECEPE) for which the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is conducting months of investigation, had filed a case file to the Criminal Prosecutor’s Office.
These are 2019-2020 subsidy programs for new or newcomers, with some of them, as reported in court, that the money they received have already returned. Among the defendants is a lawyer and due to special dozen the trial is held at the Court of Appeal.
The former head of the OPEKEPE Internal Audit Directorate who carried out the initial audit, Paraskevi Tyherropoulou, testified to the court.
The witness told her was assigned by the then President of the Organization of some VAT IDs in question, after anonymous, in particular, complaints about illegal aid methods. As he said, they were inspected by VAT IDs who had applied to receive aid from the national reserve, the money they are gathered to be given to young and newcomers. He also pointed out that the main source of the “piggy bank” is to reduce the rights of other producers. “
Specializing in three of the cases of concern, the witness stressed that landowners appeared in various parts of Greece. The land “entered the E9” one year, when they were completed by the obligations of the debtors themselves, but in previous years the land, whether public, divided by breeders or other owners.
“That is, another owner in 2019 and another in 2020, at least according to AADE,” said Mrs Thanropoulou, who referred to a search appearing as an area owner, which he had not stated to E9. “This person passed away in 2016 and his land never appeared on E9, but it seemed to hire them in 2015.”
According to the witness, the problem lies in the process with the rights from the national reserve in which “the defendants are establishing rights and at the moment still with which they can be paid. Normally they need to be revoked ..”
The witness referred to similarities to the characteristics of the VAT IDs in question to apply for rights in national reserve, such as low leases for land and more. He also stressed that he was impressed when he had on -the -spot checking for some very large areas. “We’re talking about mountains,” he said.
The trial continues.