The first two of the 23 defendants in the case of contract 717 for critical works in the railway network, which remained unfulfilled for a number of years, were released on the imposition of the highest monetary guarantee after the apologies they gave to the European Investigator Christina Salappa.

These are two employees of ERGOSE who appeared before the judicial officer, the first of a total of 14 employees of ERGOSE who are charged with serious charges for the non-execution of the contract in question, the projects of which also included that of signaling – remote control in the network. The two defendants were released after their confession, but with the imposition of a total monetary guarantee of 1.1 million euros as well as with the restrictive condition of the ban on leaving the country.

The Investigator of the case together with the mandated European prosecutor Popi Papandreou ruled after the completion of the apologies of the two defendants, who for a period of time had the supervision of the works of the contract, that a guarantee of 600 thousand euros should be imposed on one of the defendants while in the second 500 thousand euros. The defendants must pay the amount of the guarantee within certain days.

The apology process of the 23 accused is expected to last until the end of April. which extends until the end of April will continue next week, where the baton will pass to the next group of defendants.

According to the prosecution brought by the European Prosecutors against the executives of ERGOSE, who open the cycle of apologies:

“The accused employees of ERGOSE had no sincere intention to implement the Convention 717/2014 and implement its object – which was inextricably linked to the safety of train traffic, as proved in the most tragic way by the accident in ‘Adendros and recent fatal accident in Tempe, which would certainly have been avoided if the scope of Contract 717 had been completed with the ETCS system in operation.”

In the estimation of the prosecutors who investigated the case, the non-execution of the contract is linked both to the accident in ‘Adendros, in 2017, and to the tragedy of Tempi, in 2023.

The defendants are asked to apologize for a series of very serious criminal acts which, in each case, involve fraud, infidelity, false certification, with the purpose of obtaining an illegal benefit, moral complicity in fraud and false certifications.

14 ERGOSE employees will be excused before Mrs. Salappa, two of whom were excused today, who are accused of fraud related to the grants credited for the execution of the project. Two of them are also charged with the charge of making a false statement with the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage for another.

*4 Executives of the Hellenic Administrative Authority of the Operational Program for Transport Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainable Development (EYD/EP-YMEPERAA) who are attributed with infidelity of funds;

*5 Individuals, legal representatives and executives of the Contractor Consortium, who are accused of being moral perpetrators in the acts of public servants, i.e. for moral complicity in fraud related to the grants and moral complicity in false certification with the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage for another.