17 arrested for illegal OPEKEPE subsidies before European prosecutor
The 17 arrested members of an illegal agricultural subsidies network face serious charges for five felonies. Damage to OPEKEPE exceeds €4.5 million.
Case file with 317 defendants for multi-million euro fraud against OPEKEPE
The 17 arrested members of the illegal agricultural subsidies network in northern Greece were brought before the European prosecutor on Thursday 28 May, where they were charged with five felonies, according to ERT.
The charges concern, depending on the case, forming and directing a criminal organisation, fraud exceeding €120,000 against the interests of the European Union, complicity in fraud and money laundering. The defendants are at the courts of the former Military School of Evelpides, where they pass one by one before the investigative judge. Along with their lawyers, they are seeking access to the case file and an extension of time to prepare their defence statements.
Fictitious cultivations and multiple 'owners'
According to ERT, authorities have decoded the operating methods of the organisation: members declared fictitious cultivations and plots of land which they neither owned nor operated, securing subsidies worth tens of thousands of euros. In certain cases, the same plot appeared each year with a different 'owner', as it was transferred from member to member of the network to continue the illegal extraction of funds.
For example, one defendant submitted repeated subsidy applications from 2020 to 2024, claiming plots of land which, according to the investigation, she never owned — illegally obtaining an amount exceeding €66,000. Another defendant received subsidies exceeding €50,000 for land which also did not belong to him.
According to the case file, the members of the organisation were private employees, unemployed persons and pensioners, with no actual connection to agricultural production. They appeared, however, as farmers with leased land in order to justify their cultivation declarations.
New case in Crete — damage of €2.7 million
Meanwhile, new information has come to light regarding a second illegal subsidies network, this time in Crete. According to the investigation by authorities, the network is alleged to have diverted at least €2.7 million from European funds.
In total, the damage to OPEKEPE from false declarations of agricultural subsidies exceeds €4.5 million, whilst the full case file involves 317 individuals.
Source: ERT