The Paramakhra Tycheropoulou had been vindicated by the Monopolies Court of First Instance of Athens, deeming her removal from her position as head of the Internal Audit Department of OPEKEPE illegal and abusive. The Authority appealed against the decision with the side of Tycheropoulou opposing it. The AADE issued a statement clarifying that, on the one hand, the exercise of legal remedies is a right of the service and on the other hand, that “this position of responsibility does not exist as of 1/1/2026, after the integration of OPEKEPE into the AADE, as the specific internal audit responsibilities were transferred to the existing Internal Audit Directorate of the AADE, which has been operating since the establishment of the Authority on 1/1/2017, and which, according to the AADE’s Statute, is always headed by an employee of University Education (PE). Therefore, there is no question of reassignment of that official to the abolished position of responsibility from 1/1/2026 onwards, but only of any payment from public funds to that official, in the event that the appeals are rejected.”
It is worth noting that the court decision was issued before the incorporation of the OPEKEPE, while Ticheropoulou holds a Technological Education (TE) degree and not a University Education (TE) degree. Also, as the Authority explains, “the placement of employees in positions of responsibility of the AADE is carried out through open procedures, in accordance with the conditions and criteria provided for in the law and the Authority’s Organization. It is not legally possible to be appointed to a position of responsibility without full compliance with the legal requirements, nor is it possible to circumvent the selection procedure. From the above it becomes clear that not pursuing a legal remedy in this case would not only constitute preferential treatment, but also grounds for seeking disciplinary and criminal liability from the competent bodies of the AADE for failing to take the prescribed actions.”
