Criminal prosecution in the degree of felony was brought by the office of the European Authorized Public Prosecutors of Athens against 23 persons related to the contract signed in 2014, known as “717 of the OSE” for the upgrade of the signaling – remote control system in the Greek railway network, a case which was strongly discussed after the tragic accident in Tempe.

The indictment of serious charges came after investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office which started a year ago, with the completion of which criminal responsibilities are attributed to him 18 government officials and five private individuals related to the execution of the work, for acts concerning the offenses of fraud, infidelity, false declaration for the purpose of illegal gain and moral abetment in fraud and false declarations.

The crimes the defendants are charged with are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is the independent Public Prosecutor’s Office of the European Union. It is responsible for the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of crimes against the EU’s financial interests.

In a statement issued by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) on the case, the following are mentioned:

” (Luxembourg, December 12, 2023) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens opened criminal proceedings yesterday against 23 suspects — including 18 civil servants — for crimes related to the execution of the Contracts for the System Restructuring and Upgrading project Signaling-Remote Control in the Greek railway network, co-financed by the EU.

The EPPO investigation, which began on November 28, 2022, focused on the Contracts for the retrofitting of the Remote Control and Signaling systems in the Greek railway network signed between ERGOSE – a subsidiary of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), responsible for the management of the Contracts – and of the Contractor Consortium, consisting of two companies, responsible for the execution of the project. The evidence gathered led to criminal prosecution against 23 suspects, namely:

• 14 civil servants of ERGOSE, for grant fraud. Two of them are also accused of making a false statement with the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage for another;

• 4 civil servants of the Hellenic Administrative Authority of the Operational Program for Transport Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainable Development (EYD/EP-YMEPERAA), for infidelity of funds;

• 5 legal representatives and employees of the Undertaking Consortiumfor conspiracy to grant fraud and conspiracy to make a false statement to obtain an unfair advantage for another.

The charges concern the execution of the Contract for the restoration of the Signaling-Telecommunication System of the Athens-Thessaloniki-Promachonas railway section, which was signed in 2014, with a time horizon of completion in 2016 – known as “Contract 717”. In 2019, a Supplementary Contract was signed on the same project, amending the original physical object of Contract 717. The Supplementary Contract provided for the construction of a completely new Signaling system with new telemetry units to enable communication and data transmission between of the railway stations, as well as from the railway stations to the control centres.

Both Contracts were co-financed by the Cohesion Fund of the EU, within the framework of the program “Modernisation of Signalling-Remote Control and installation of the European Train Control System (ETCS)”, with the contribution of the EU. to amount to 85%.

Faulty execution of the Contracts

The evidence gathered demonstrates criminal responsibilityfor the following reasons.

By private agreement, the two companies which constituted the Undertaking Consortium, immediately after the signing of Contract 717, they arbitrarily divided the work between them. One of the companies undertook to carry out the northern part of the project, while the second company undertook to carry out the project on the longest section of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line up to Platys, including the section near Tempi, where the fatal train collision occurred in February 28, 2023.

In addition, the second company commissioned the preparation of the technical studies regarding the signaling systems of the Athens-Platy railway section to a third company, which did not have the required special know-how – in violation of the terms of the Contract, which provided that the special know-how had to be provided by the lending company. This resulted in the breach of the contractual obligation regarding the provision of specialized know-how, for which a financial correction of approximately 2 million euros was imposed on ERGOSE, following an audit carried out in 2018 by the Hellenic Financial Audit Committee (E.D.EL. ).

While the original scope of Contract 717 included the upgrade of the existing Signaling-Telecommunication Systems, the Consortium Contractor attempted to build an entirely new signaling system with new telemetry units. This action was considered to constitute an illegal modification of the original Contract, which led to an unjustified increase in its value, not justified by unforeseen circumstances.

According to the criminal investigation, they were granted in total seven illegal extensions of the original Convention, according to the decisions of the ERGOSE Board of Directors. For this reason, more than nine years after the signing of Convention 717, the project was still not completed.

It is alleged that employees of ERGOSE, responsible for the management of the project, deliberately declared incorrect and incomplete information to the Administrative Authority regarding the existence of facts crucial for the granting of the aid and the approval of the extensions. As a result, the relevant requests were approved by the Managing Authority, which paid the funds to the beneficiary, ERGOSE, which then paid the Consortium Contractor.

In addition, it is alleged that the employees of the Administrative Authority, which was responsible for the management of the funds, acted in violation of the principles of sound management of these assets. It was accepted that, despite the fact that the data submitted by the employees of ERGOSE were obviously incorrect and incomplete, the civil servants of the Administrative Authority approved the granting of the corresponding aids, causing damage to the financial interests of the EU. and the Greek State in the amount of more than 15.6 million euros.

The criminal investigation also revealed facts that constitute possible breach of duty by the Inspectors-Controllers of the Hellenic National Transparency Authority (EAD) of Greece, which were assigned by the national Prosecution Authorities to carry out an audit regarding the execution of Convention 717. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to refer this new case to the competent Greek authorities, for their own further legal actions, given that the facts that are the subject of this new investigation do not constitute a criminal offense within the competence of the EPPO.