Athens prosecutor archives part of OPECEPE scandal case against two ruling-party MPs, citing lack of evidence
The Athens First Instance Prosecutor has shelved a case file concerning New Democracy MPs Charalampos Athanasiou and Tasos Chatzivasileiou, plus former OPECEPE president Dimitris Melas, after finding no indications of moral instigation in breach of duty.
What the prosecutor decided
The Athens First Instance Prosecutor concluded that no evidence supports the charge of moral instigation in breach of duty against the two sitting politicians. The same reasoning cleared Dimitris Melas, who had been viewed as the potential physical perpetrator of the alleged offences. The file will now pass to the Athens Appeals Prosecutor for final ratification.
A completely unfounded case has been archived. I stated then and I state now, that as long as I serve this country and its citizens, I will intervene to defend their lawful demands.
How the investigation unfolded
The case was one strand of the broader OPECEPE payments scandal. The relevant dossier was transferred in early April 2026 from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Athens First Instance Prosecutor, after it was determined that the suspected offence (breach of duty) did not fall within the EPPO’s mandate. The two MPs, having waived their parliamentary immunity, gave explanations as suspects. The former OPECEPE president was also questioned as the alleged physical perpetrator.
Athanasiou defends his conduct
After the decision was announced, MP for Lesvos Charalampos Athanasiou repeated his vow to back citizens’ lawful demands. He also urged public services to become more flexible, saying many livestock farmers and growers lose legitimate benefits because they are not adept at filling in paperwork.
Public services must be more flexible to understand that many of our livestock farmers and farmers are not familiar with filling out and checking the relevant documents, resulting in them losing benefits they are legally entitled to.
Next steps and the wider OPECEPE probe
The file has already been sent to the Athens Appeals Prosecutor for review. A separate, live investigation by the EPPO continues into 11 serving New Democracy MPs and around 40 non-political individuals. Most of those questioned have asked for and received an extension to give statements by Friday 5 June. Two MPs – Kostas Ach. Karamanlis and Katerina Papakosta – are being examined for suspected felony-level breach of trust, while the remaining nine face misdemeanour-level allegations.
