The parliamentary inquiry into OPEKEPE, Greece’s embattled farm subsidy agency, has entered a new phase with the testimony of former president Grigoris Varras, who served from November 2019 to November 2020. His statements have placed both political figures and private contractors under scrutiny, as he alleged that he was forced out of office in 2020 under political and corporate pressure linked to IT contractor Neuropublic and its affiliate, Gaia Epicheirein.
Appearing before the committee, Varras confirmed the contents of a memo he had previously submitted to George Mylonakis, deputy minister to the PMs office. In that document, dated June 2025, he described what he believed to be irregularities within the agency. During questioning, he stated that then Agriculture Minister Makis Voridis had asked for his resignation, which he linked to his attempts to highlight such issues.
Varras testified that his removal came “with the demand of Neuropublic and Gaia Epicheirein and with Voridis as the executor.” He also referred to pressure from Voridis’s office regarding a public consultation for a new technical advisor, suggesting that this was a point of tension. Asked directly in the committee whether Voridis wanted “illegalities to continue and therefore proceeded with his firing” , Varras replied: “I agree.”
He further described what he viewed as pressures to authorize an improper payment, which he said he refused to approve. Varras also referred to interventions by other officials, including former general secretary Giorgos Stratakos, in connection with audit procedures.
Voridis, responding publicly, rejected the claims. In a written statement he called the testimony “a theoretical construct without real basis,” adding that Varras had not cited the actual reason for his dismissal.
Neuropublic, one of the companies named in Varras’s testimony, also issued a response, calling his statements “false, baseless and defamatory” and announcing that it reserved the right to pursue legal action.
Despite his departure from OPEKEPE, Varras holds the position of advisor on primary sector policy to the Prime Minister’s Office, to this day. In addition to his oral testimony, he submitted a 659-page written statement to the parliamentary committee, citing concerns about his role as a witness in ongoing investigations by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Latest Developments in the Hearings
While Varras’s testimony has dominated headlines, the committee is continuing with other witnesses. Paraskevi (Vivi) Tycherepoulou, former head of OPEKEPE’s Direct Payments and Market Support Directorate, requested a postponement of her appearance, citing her participation in several ongoing trials related to the agency. Tycheropoulou initiated in 2020 an audit of 99 farmers with repeated complaints of fictitious subsidy rights. Her investigation uncovered what she described as an organized scheme involving non-existent animals, fictitious pastures, forged lease contracts, and beneficiaries receiving thousands of euros in EU funds. She submitted a detailed report to the competent audit authorities and testified before the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Following her investigation she alleges that she became the target of disciplinary and legal actions, including removal of responsibilities, three disciplinary cases, two lawsuits, and a financial penalty for “breach of confidentiality” linked to her cooperation with the EPPO.
Another former senior official, Athanasia Reppa, who oversaw technical audits and the distribution of the national reserve, told the committee that in her view “there is no OPEKEPE scandal,” though she acknowledged that “wrongful conduct may exist, but it must be proven.” Reppa, who faces trial on charges including document misappropriation and breach of duty, denied obstructing audits as Varras had alleged. She insisted she had no access to audit files and said that checks were intensified during her tenure. SYRIZA party sources, however, pointed to what they described as contradictions in her account, noting that she and former OPEKEPE president Dimitris Melas are due to stand trial in Athens over the handling of audit findings concerning grazing land subsidy applications from 2019–2020.
OPEKEPE, the Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid, manages subsidy payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. Its work relies heavily on complex IT systems and contracted service providers.
Neuropublic is the long-standing IT contractor of OPEKEPE, providing digital systems for subsidy management and controls.
Gaia Epicheirein is the certified coordinating body for the local offices where farmers submit subsidy declarations. Established in 2014, partly owned by Neuropublic, banks, and cooperatives.
Source: tovima.com
