Tempi: Inspector accused of breach of duty found dead

One of the two inspectors of the National Transparency Authority, who had been accused of breach of duty in relation to the insufficient oversight of the controversial contract 717/2014 linked to the Tempi railway disaster, has died.

According to an announcement by the Panhellenic Federation of Associations of Graduate Public Sector Engineers, which reported the death of Dimitris Trapeziotis, the inspector was found dead at his home.

It is recalled that during the latest hearing in the case, the defendant had not appeared in court, with his legal representative citing health issues. The charges he faced concerned omissions during the audit process and the failure to assign responsibility for delays in the implementation of the project.

The announcement does not mention the cause of death.

The indictment over Contract 717

The two accused inspectors had been tasked with auditing Contract 717. According to the indictment, their report contained contradictions between findings and conclusions, without proceeding to quantify the damage to the Greek state.

The prosecuting authority filed charges, arguing that they acted in a way that unlawfully benefited those responsible, preventing the attribution of criminal liability.

The National Transparency Authority (NTA) launched an investigation into Contract 717 in 2020. The contract between ERGOSE and the consortium TOMI – Alstom was signed in 2014, with a budget of €41 million and a completion deadline set for 2016.

In 2021, the NTA concluded that there were no criminal liabilities for the failure to complete the contract. Its inspectors noted delays but did not identify intent on the part of ERGOSE or the consortium. It is recalled that the Greek state had been burdened with €3.3 million, while the contract remains incomplete to this day.

On the other hand, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which had begun investigating the same case before the railway accident, brought felony charges against 23 individuals for fraud and breach of trust.

Full statement by POE-EMDYDAS

“We inform you that on Wednesday, 15/4, our colleague Dimitris Trapeziotis, Civil Engineer and Inspector–Auditor of the National Transparency Authority, was found dead at his home.

Our colleague Trapeziotis, initially an employee of the Ministry of Infrastructure, had previously served as a member of the Board of EMDYDAS Attica and was distinguished for his knowledge, humanity, solidarity, and willingness to contribute. A good scientist and capable in his work, guided by principles and values.

Our colleague had recently been targeted by an unjust prosecution for ‘breach of duty’, as we подробно outlined in our announcement of 21/1/2026 titled: ‘Support for our colleagues at the NTA, no to the logic of scapegoating’ regarding OSE Contract 717, despite the fact that they had timely and thoroughly highlighted all the problems of the said contract in their report.

We believe that the sudden loss of our colleague may be causally linked to the stressful situation he had been experiencing in recent months, as have dozens of our colleagues nationwide, who are facing prosecutions in the course of performing their official duties.

In this context, this loss is connected to the broader conditions highlighted by the Tempi tragedy, as a result of longstanding omissions and chronic systemic failures. We call on the State to fully and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of our colleague’s death.

At the same time, we stress that the logic of ‘scapegoats’, whereby employees are called upon to bear responsibilities that are not theirs, must stop immediately, so that we do not face further loss of human lives. May the earth rest lightly upon him.”