(Luxembourg, 28 May 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens (Greece) brought additional charges today against 16 suspects – including 13 public officials - relating to the execution of contracts for restoring remote traffic control and signalling systems on the Greek rail network, co-funded by the EU.
Nine of these suspects had already been charged for other crimes in the same investigation, and an additional seven new suspects were charged now.
The EPPO investigation focuses on the contracts for restoring remote traffic control and signalling systems on the Greek rail network signed between ERGOSE – a subsidiary of the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), responsible for the management of the contracts – and the Consortium Contractor, formed by two companies, responsible for the execution of the project. One of the companies undertook to carry out the northern section of the project, while the second company undertook to carry out the project on the major part of the Athens-Thessaloniki route up to Platy, including the section near Tempe where a fatal railway collision occurred on 28 February 2023.
The new charges follow the conclusion of an extended investigation, aimed at examining the potential criminal liability of non-political individuals, specifically public officials of ERGOSE and members of the construction consortium, who are alleged to have participated in the misappropriation of funds to the detriment of the financial interests of the European Union (EU) and the Hellenic Republic. The facts date back to the period between 2019 and 2020, when members of the consortium requested compensation for damage, invoking costs of machinery outages – despite the fact that the works had not been completed due to the fault of the construction consortium. A payment of €2.7 million was formally granted by the then Greek Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, following a positive technical opinion by public officials of the contracting authority.
Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, criminal charges were formally brought against 16 individuals, public officials and members of the aforementioned consortium. They are charged with complicity in the misappropriation of funds to the detriment of the financial interests of the EU and the Hellenic Republic, as well as instigation to the misappropriation of funds, committed repeatedly.
The crimes of which the defendants are accused are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, along with a fine.
The case has been forwarded to the Special Investigative Judge assigned to handle EPPO’s cases, for the continuation of the judicial proceedings.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Greek courts of law.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.