In the field of harsh political confrontation, the House Inquiry Committee has been converted to irregularities in OPECEPEwith the testimonies of former governors of the organization throwing oil on the fire. The revelations of control gaps and the invocation of the “right of silence” by witness led the parties to a war of interpretations, each to blame the scandal of his political opponent.
Kaprelis: “Holes” in KYD and responsibility for “Agree” by Voridis
The former president of OPEKEPE (with terms in 2010-13 and 2015-19), Athanasios Kaprelisdescribed a system with serious weaknesses, focusing on the reception centers (KYD). “When you have a KYD in Kilkis seeing a map in Gaidouronisi, then we have holes“, He said characteristically, stressing that the doubling of their number (over 500 instead of 250) made their control impossible.
His deposition, however, caused a political storm when he admitted that he himself suggested the distribution of pastures that led to the famous “Agree” by then Minister Maki Voridis.
- The “reading” of ND: Government sources stressed that the assumption of Caprellis proves that Mr Voridis followed the same “technical solution” that SYRIZA’s ministers also applied, accusing the opposition of hypocrisy.
- SYRIZA’s “reading”: SYRIZA opposed that Mr Kaprellis confirmed that he did not accept any political intervention in his days and that the European Public Prosecutor’s investigation is not about the “technical solution”, but those who were falsely presented as “civilian backs” by “political backs” on ND.
Zervos: The “right of silence” that lit fires
The tension culminated in the submission of the former Vice-President (2024-2025), Eleftherio Zervos. When asked by PASOK rapporteur Milena Apostolakis about his talks included in the European Public Prosecutor’s case, Mr Zervos cited the right of silencestating that he will not answer questions related to the preliminary research carried out against him.
His attitude caused the anger of the opposition:
- PASOK spoke about ‘Assumption of guilt’complaining that the witness was normally answering ND’s questions, but he was silent on those of PASOK. ‘Did not answer the question of one million: who is the “Makis” Referring to the talks, “the party sources said.
- SYRIZA requested the suspension of the meeting to give the witness the dialogues to be able to respond, a request rejected by the majority.
A scandal, many truths
The deposits, instead of lighting the case, depth the political gap. OR New Democracy He insists that he is investigating “timeless pathogens” and accuses the opposition of trying to disorient the debate. THE SYRIZA He argues that the “truth of the ND collapses” and that the scandal has a name (“Mitsotakis Government”) and a direction (“Maximus Mansion”). The PASOKFor his part, he stresses that the attitude of the witnesses confirms that OPEKEPE operated “about” without transparency and accountability.
The Inquiry Committee continues, with the truth about the management of millions of euros in Community resources remaining buried under the parties of the parties.