Greek authorities have frozen assets worth at least €1.5 million—including luxury cars and real estate—belonging to four individuals under investigation in the OPEKEPE subsidy scandal. The order was issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which has forwarded its findings to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
Those targeted include former New Democracy official Kalliopi Semertzidou, her partner, and two relatives. According to investigators, between 2019 and 2024 they received a total of €2.6 million in subsidies, of which €1.5 million was not used for its declared purpose. The report points to indications of serious crimes, including fraud and money laundering, and calls for further investigation.
Authorities are continuing investigations into targeted subsidy cases exceeding €100,000, as well as individuals who played a role in facilitating the payouts.
The authority has also asked for scrutiny of the remaining €1 million to determine whether it was lawfully obtained or if falsified or fictitious invoices were used. Parallel investigations are ongoing into subsidy recipients who collected more than €100,000, as well as OPEKEPE employees who may have facilitated the payouts.
Meanwhile, parliament elected the presidium of its inquiry committee into OPEKEPE. As required by parliamentary rules, all three members are from New Democracy, which holds 17 of the committee’s 31 seats. Opposition parties demanded a cross-party presidium, but their request was rejected, prompting PASOK, SYRIZA and KKE to accuse the ruling party of seeking a cover-up.
What is fyi.news?
