Dozens of recipients of Asimakopoulou’s email said they had never had prior communication with her and didn’t consent to receiving her emails.
Failing to account for how she got the data, Asimakopoulou — who was vice-chair of the committee on international trade in the last term — stepped down on March 15 from running in the New Democracy campaign. The party is led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
According to the data protection authority’s investigation, a file containing data on all voters registered for the June 2023 election found its way into the hands of the MEP. The list was sent to a New Democracy official handling diaspora affairs by an unknown individual.
The official then forwarded it to Asimakopoulou, who used it to send mass campaign emails, the authority said.
The data protection authority is still investigating New Democracy’s role in the scandal, which could lead to further fines. A state prosecutor is also conducting a separate investigation and dozens of expats have filed lawsuits against both Asimakopoulou and the Interior Ministry. The Interior Minister’s top civil servant also resigned over the scandal in March.
The ministry said in a statement that it will “thoroughly study” the authority’s decision before deciding on further legal action.
