The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) said Tuesday it will not comply with a court ruling to reinstate an employee working for a state farm subsidies agency that’s at the heart of a European Union fund misuse scandal, because that position has been abolished.
On March 30, the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Athens annulled a decision to fire Paraskevi Tycheropoulou from her senior auditing position in OPEKEPE, the agency that distributed EU aid to farmers, saying the demotion by then director Kyriakos Babassidis to a position in protocol – where she had no access to the agency’s computer system and effectively no duties – was illegal and due to “her behavior not being pleasing to the [OPEKEPE] management.”
However, the AADE appealed against the ruling, claiming it is “non-enforceable” because the case was discussed before OPEKEPE’s full integration into AADE on January 1. The post was subsequently abolished, as the specific internal audit responsibilities were transferred to the existing relevant department of the tax agency. It also said that the appointment of employees in positions of responsibility “is carried out through open procedures.”
Tycheropoulou was a key witness in the ongoing investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and among the first officials at OPEKEPE to notice discrepancies in payments and uncover how the complex scheme was set up.
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