Eppo

A Bulgarian businessman is facing charges in the Sofia District Court for attempted fraud involving nearly 1.92 million euros in EU funds.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has charged the former mayor and the former regional governor of Varna, along with two civil servants from the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, as part of an investigation into alleged fraud related to the reconstruction of a fishing port. The charges stem from a report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

The Athens Prosecutor's Office is prosecuting two inspectors at the National Transparency Authority concerning the investigation into the delayed implementation of Contract 717 of ERGOSE, the projects branch of Hellenic Railways (OSE), which has been causally linked with the railway collision in Tempe in central Greece in February 2023 that cost the lives of 57 people.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has launched an investigation into the Vasilikos liquefied natural gas import terminal project in Cyprus, amid suspicions of public procurement fraud, misappropriation of funds and corruption.

A defendant in the Contract 717 case, which has been linked to the tragic Tempe railway accident, has filed a lawsuit against the European investigator and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), accusing them of misconduct and abuse of power.

Two officials from state-owned Hellenic Railways have been released after testifying before an examining magistrate but had to pay large sums for bail.

The two are among those being investigated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) over a contract for the upgrade of the railways' signaling system and remote control.

Greece's ruling conservatives have accused the leftist SYRIZA opposition of undermining the country's democracy after a senior official suggested that it would be a "blessing" if the EU's chief prosecutor investigating the 2013 Tempe railway disaster could potentially oust the government.

The third defendant to testify before the European Public Prosecutor's Greek representative on Tempe-related contract 717 has been released on bail of €700,000.

The defendant, who was an official at ERGOSE, the projects branch of Hellenic Railways (OSE), is also banned from leaving the country.

Two executives of ERGOSE, the projects branch of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), were ordered to post a 600,000-euro and 500,000-euro bail, respectively, before being released from jail on Thursday as part of a European probe into a deadly train collision last year, and specifically the implementation of Contract 717 for the automatic operation and signaling of the railway network. 

As expected, the parliamentary debate on Wednesday on the findings of the committee of inquiry into the deadly February 2023 railway accident at Tempe was overshadowed by the acrimony between the government and opposition parties.