- Avgenakis’ Maneuvers Involving 5,586 Cretan Tax IDs and the Role of Voridis, Papastavrou, and Bratakos
By Vangelis Triantis
New revelations about the OPEKEPE scandal have been published by the Data Journalists, pointing directly to the Prime Minister’s office. These revelations come in the form of two “confidential” letters sent in November and December of 2023 by the former president of OPEKEPE, Evangelos Simandrakos, to the director of the Prime Minister’s office and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Giannis Bratakos.
At the time, relations between Simandrakos and the Minister of Rural Development, Lefteris Avgenakis, had significantly deteriorated – so much so that Avgenakis was pushing for Simandrakos’s resignation. In response, Simandrakos formally informed Bratakos in writing about several pressing issues within OPEKEPE. Among these issues was the total amount of advance payments made by the agency, which had decreased compared to 2022.
Simandrakos explained to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff that out of the 9,309 applicants denied payments for grazing lands with no animals, 5,586 (63%) were from Crete. According to the letters, Avgenakis began publicly denouncing the matter after the advance payments had been distributed. A high-level meeting was eventually convened with Bratakos, Simandrakos, Makis Voridis, and Stavros Papastavrou in attendance. The meeting resulted in the cancellation of Simandrakos’ resignation, albeit temporarily. On December 29, 2023, Simandrakos resigned permanently, later describing Avgenakis’ actions as a “coordinated setup.” He reported this in an email to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which the Data Journalists now possess. In short, the Prime Minister’s office was fully informed of what was happening within OPEKEPE, especially concerning the producers from Crete, yet they chose to side with Lefteris Avgenakis. But let’s start from the beginning.
The Letter to Bratakos
On November 4, 2023, Evangelos Simandrakos, the then-President of OPEKEPE, sent a letter to Giannis Bratakos, the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister. In the letter, Simandrakos briefed Bratakos on a series of issues concerning OPEKEPE. The correspondence was prompted by a number of public allegations made by the former Minister of Rural Development, Lefteris Avgenakis, which targeted OPEKEPE and its management at the time. Simandrakos described these allegations as “baseless” in his letter.
According to Mr. Simandrakos, everything began on Friday, October 27, 2023. On that day, OPEKEPE made advance payments of the basic subsidy to 538,768 beneficiaries. Mr. Simandrakos reportedly received congratulations for this move from the then – Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Stavros Keletsis, and the then-Secretary General of the same ministry, Giorgos Stratakos. However, the total amount paid out in advances was significantly lower than in 2022. In 2022, the amount reached €657 million; in 2023, it dropped to €488.5 million. This decrease was due to several factors. The overall basic subsidy was reduced compared to the previous year. A new universal monitoring system was implemented that required checking all agricultural plots in the country via remote sensing, rather than checking only a small sample as in the past. Additionally, subsidies were no longer granted for grazing lands, even if they were in good agricultural condition, unless the beneficiary owned animals to use them.
In his letter, Mr. Simandrakos raised another important point. Specifically, he addressed the denial of subsidies for grazing lands without livestock. Out of the 9,309 applicants who were excluded because they did not meet the eligibility criteria, 5,586 – 63% – came from the four regional units of Crete: Lasithi, Heraklion, Rethymno, and Chania.
On October 30, 2023, Mr. Stratakos reportedly asked Mr. Simandrakos for his resignation, as well as the resignations of all OPEKEPE board members. According to Mr. Simandrakos, Mr. Stratakos said the request came directly from Mr. Avgenakis and was specifically related to how the advance subsidy payment had been handled.
The First Letter:
Athens, November 4, 2023
To: Mr. Giannis Bratakos, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Director of the Prime Minister’s Office
Dear Minister,
OPEKEPE is the organization that I lead. It is the only accredited Payment Agency in the country. OPEKEPE is responsible for overseeing and executing payments of EU agricultural subsidies. This is in accordance with both European Union and national legislation.
I was appointed President of OPEKEPE through an open competition organized by ASEP (Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection) based on Law 4735/2020. This law defines the selection process for my appointment as well as the terms for termination of my mandate, which expires in July 2025 (Article 22, as amended and currently in force). First and foremost, I am a technocrat who has aligned himself with the announcements of our Prime Minister, Mr. Mitsotakis. I have sought to serve the executive state and support the agricultural sector of our country, from which I come.
Both OPEKEPE and I have been the target of unfounded accusations and statements by the Minister of Rural Development and Food in the media. For this reason, I am writing you directly to inform you of the facts and share relevant statements and concerns from the Panhellenic Association of OPEKEPE Employees, on whom the organization ultimately depends.
More specifically:
On Friday, October 27, 2023, OPEKEPE successfully made the advance payment of the basic subsidy to 538,768 beneficiaries by the announced deadline. Following this achievement, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Rural Development, Mr. Giorgos Stratakos, and the Deputy Minister, Mr. Stavros Keletsis, personally contacted me to express the Ministry’s satisfaction and extend their congratulations to OPEKEPE.
This payment was the first based on the newly approved National Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and involved three major changes.
- First, the basic subsidy was reduced from €1.068 billion to €829 million.
- Second, the monitoring process was fully implemented, meaning all agricultural plots across the country were inspected by remote sensing rather than a small sample as had been done in previous years.
- Third, subsidies for grazing lands in good agricultural condition were not paid if the beneficiary did not own animals to utilize them.
Due to these changes, the advance payment was €488.5 million in 2023, compared to €657 million in 2022.
Regarding point 3 specifically – the nonpayment of grazing land subsidies for unoccupied lands – I inform you that of the 9,309 applicants who did not receive payments due to ineligibility, 5,586 (63%) were from the four regional units of Lasithi, Heraklion, Rethymno, and Chania.
On Monday, October 30, 2023, at 12:00 p.m., the Secretary General of the Ministry of Rural Development, Mr. Giorgos Stratakos, contacted me again. On behalf of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, he requested the resignation of all members of the Board of Directors, including those elected by the employees and by the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece. He cited reasons related to the payment of the advance.
Dear Minister, with a strong sense of responsibility for the work I have been appointed to perform and the important role of the organization, I refused to resign. I know the organization’s work impacts society as a whole, the agricultural community, and ultimately the government’s agenda. My resignation would only serve the person demanding it without clarifying the reasons or motives.
During my tenure as president, ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ successfully completed full payment for the 2022 application year by October 12, beating the October 15 deadline. They also collected 2023 OSDE applications on the gov.gr platform. I would also like to highlight the successful transition of the OPEKEPE payment system to the Gov.gr platform shortly after I took office in July 2022, which was a key government priority.
Furthermore, I emphasize that, in the near future, our organization must carry out payment settlements for farmers’ 2023 applications while being audited by the European Commission’s competent services for our work. Clearly, this work cannot be disparaged or undermined by statements from the responsible minister. These statements are inevitably taken into account by the European Commission’s auditing bodies, whose mandate is to ensure the lawful management of European funds.
My political supervisor has never sought to communicate with me through official channels since assuming office. His public behavior and statements are causing problems for the organization, now risking the legitimacy and transparency of payments being questioned by the farming community. For this reason, I respectfully request a hearing. This hearing would allow me to provide you with the necessary information to support the Organization’s work. Further damage to the Organization’s reputation could create serious issues with the European Commission and potentially jeopardize the continued smooth disbursement of subsidies that farmers and the national economy depend on.
The meeting with Voridis, Papastavrou, and Bratakos
After the letter was sent, Smantrakis and Bratakos attended a meeting with Stavros Papastavrou and Makis Voridis, who had left the Ministry of Agricultural Development by then. According to a report that Mr. Smantrakis sent to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office via email, which is available to Data Journalists, the meeting resulted in the decision that Mr. Smantrakis would not resign and would remain president of OPEKEPE. However, that did not last long.
The second letter to Bratakos
On December 8, 2023, after his resignation had initially been canceled, Mr. Smantrakis sent a second letter to Mr. Bratakos. In this letter, Mr. Smantrakis once again addressed a number of issues concerning OPEKEPE and the fact that the organization was under investigation by the European Commission. He expressed his objections to the public statements made by Mr. Avgenakis.
The Second Letter:
Athens, December 8, 2023
To: The Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Director of the Prime Minister’s Office
Mr. Giannis Bratakos
Dear Minister,
In my last communication, I mentioned that our organization will soon be audited by the relevant European Commission services for its work. I also noted that the responsible Minister’s statements cannot discredit or undermine this work, as they are inevitably taken into account by the European Commission’s audit services, whose role is to ensure the lawful management of European funds.
I am writing to inform you that during the recent audit of our organization, which took place from December 4 to 6, the Commission’s auditors initially raised concerns about the criterion of “human resources.” This audit was conducted to determine whether our organization complies with the requirements necessary to manage EU funds by carrying out controls and payments.
During the discussion, direct explanations were requested regarding the situation with the organization’s board of directors. This was in reference to reports in the Greek press about the minister’s request for board members to resign and the reasons behind the request.
I provided a balanced response, attributing the press reports on “dysfunction within OPEKEPE and errors in payments” to media exaggerations. Regarding the Minister’s request for the Board’s resignation, I explained that no justified or documented request has been submitted in writing. I continue my work as head of the organization, which continues its work unaffected by the press reports and fulfills its assigned role. The other board members who had submitted their resignations and were present during the audit did not comment.
Nevertheless, on the same day that the organization’s Accreditation Committee (comprising officials from the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food) and OPEKEPE staff were striving to impress the European Commission auditors with well-documented answers to their questions, the newspaper NEA KRITI published statements from the minister, such as: “From now on, we want to create a new OPEKEPE, beyond the constraints and decay that characterize it at the level of the president and central administrative executives.” I would like to emphasize that the Minister was aware of the subject and schedule of the European Commission auditors’ inspection, as the relevant documents were duly communicated, and the accreditation committee reports directly to him.
I want to make it clear that, within two months, the official report of the committee regarding this audit will be sent, and, within six months, a decision will be made as to whether to suspend our Organization’s accreditation. I emphasize that any suspension of the organization’s accreditation would mean the cessation of its payments (at least for the measures or funds decided by the commission), and failure to comply with the commission’s recommendations would lead to the organization’s accreditation being completely revoked. As you can imagine, the financial and political consequences for the agricultural sector and the government would be significant.
I assure you that all of the administrative officials involved, from both OPEKEPE and the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food, understood the importance of the audit. They did their utmost to meet the European Commission’s requests, both during the recent on-site inspection and throughout the earlier stages of the investigation.
However, since the responsible political supervisor has never sought to communicate with me in an institutional capacity since assuming his duties, and given that his public behavior and statements hinder the Organization’s ability to carry out its work, I kindly request an intervention to restore the Organization’s public image and credibility in the eyes of the European Commission.
Simandrakos’s Resignation and Avgenakis’s Favor
Ultimately, Mr. Simandrakos resigned from his position as president of OPEKEPE. According to Mr. Simandrakos’s email to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Kyriakos Babasisidis, the vice president of OPEKEPE at the time, resigned due to a “maneuver by Lefteris Avgenakis.” Mr. Simandrakos stated that this event created a “very bad impression” with the European Commission’s services. On December 29, 2023, Mr. Simandrakos finally resigned from OPEKEPE. He claims that, the day before (December 28, 2023), Bratakos, Papastavrou, and Voridis had requested his resignation.
