Famellos calls for parliamentary inquiry into Hellenic Post: “new ND scandal”

Greece
Thu, 18 Dec 2025 9:42 GMT
Speaking at the Parliament’s Committee on Institutions and Transparency, Famellos said Greece is facing “yet another blatant scandal by the government,” arguing that ND deliberately curtailed ELTA’s operations to install loyalists and ultimately transfer market share to private couriers.
Famellos calls for parliamentary inquiry into Hellenic Post: “new ND scandal”

SYRIZA leader Socrates Famellos has called for the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry committee into the management of Hellenic Post (ELTA), accusing the ruling New Democracy (ND) government of orchestrating a six-year plan that led to the organization’s collapse while benefiting party affiliates and private courier companies.

Speaking at the Parliament’s Committee on Institutions and Transparency, Famellos said Greece is facing “yet another blatant scandal by the government,” arguing that ND deliberately curtailed ELTA’s operations to install loyalists and ultimately transfer market share to private couriers.

“The plan of New Democracy for the past six years was to restrict ELTA’s operation and, through it, to accommodate its own people,” Famellos said, demanding a full investigation into the causes of ELTA’s financial deterioration and effective bankruptcy under ND governance.

He accused the Cabinet of bearing responsibility for public contracts, political favoritism, ELTA’s financial collapse, and what he described as “the biggest favor” to private courier companies.

According to Famellos, ELTA was profitable in 2019, before ND came to power. He alleged that the government used the organization as a “greenhouse for blue-party cadres,” allowing them to benefit financially before engineering ELTA’s shrinkage and ceding the sector to private interests.

Famellos also submitted investigative reports by Efimerida ton Syntakton claiming that profitable ELTA branches were shut down—contradicting government assertions that only loss-making outlets were closed. In response, Economy Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis reportedly stated that profitability was not the sole criterion for closures, citing other factors.

SYRIZA’s proposed charges for the inquiry include:

  1. Persistent loss-making financial results
  2. Contracts awarded between 2020 and 2022 to ND MP Andreas Patsis, totaling 27 contracts worth €821,877
  3. €50 million in direct awards over the past six years for consultancy and other services
  4. Alleged wasteful spending, including the relocation of ELTA headquarters to a rented building in Patissia with a monthly rent of €180,000
  5. Up to 2,000 hires per year allegedly facilitated by MPs and ministers’ offices via third-party companies, bypassing ASEP procedures

Contract splitting to enable direct awards

“Who knows how much money was lost into thin air when these contracts reached €40 million per year,” Famellos said, adding that ELTA’s board was allegedly informed only when lawsuits were filed to secure payments.

The government has not yet responded in full to the call for an inquiry.

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