Maria Karystianou, a leading figure representing families of victims of Greece’s deadliest rail disaster, has accused the government of targeting the Association of Victims and Relatives of the Tempi Tragedy (2023) after tax inspectors carried out an audit at the association’s offices.
In statements posted on social media, Karystianou described the inspection as a deliberate attempt to intimidate and silence the group, which has been demanding accountability for the February 2023 train crash near Tempi that killed 57 people. The audit was conducted on Friday by officials of Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) who travelled from Thessaloniki to inspect the association’s financial records.
Karystianou said the association’s finances are fully transparent and stressed that she has consistently supported the public disclosure of all financial data. She questioned why the authorities chose to prioritise an audit of a victims’ organisation, while, as she claimed, major unresolved cases involving alleged large-scale tax losses and powerful economic interests have remained untouched for years. “Let them explain by what criteria this audit was prioritised, when files involving billions of euros in losses to the public purse are left buried in drawers,” she wrote.
According to Dnews.gr sources, inspectors from the Financial and Economic Crime Unit requested full access to the association’s financial documents. As members of the board were absent at the time, attending court proceedings in the city of Larissa related to the Tempi case, the inspectors reportedly agreed to return on 9 January to collect the records.
Some reports suggest the audit may have been triggered by public allegations of financial mismanagement made on social media. However, supporters of the association argue that the move fits a broader pattern of pressure on the Tempi victims’ movement, which has become a powerful symbol of public anger over state failures, safety standards and accountability in Greece. There is also speculation that Karystianou herself is being singled out because of her growing public profile.
In her statement, Karystianou went further, calling for broader accountability within the tax system. She asked how many audits have been quietly closed after encountering influential business interests, how many high-profile cases were never examined at all, and how many inspections without findings resulted in excessive fines against critics of the political system.
Responding to questions, AADE sources said that no one is above the law and that compliant taxpayers have nothing to fear, adding that the authority does not comment on specific audit cases.
