57 convicted of defrauding EU agricultural subsidies of €1.7 million
Athens Court of First Instance convicted 57 people for fraudulently obtaining subsidies worth nearly €1.74 million from the National Reserve of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Conviction of 57 people for defrauding EU agricultural subsidies in Kastoria
Athens Court of First Instance convicted 57 people for fraud against European Union agricultural subsidies, following a request from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Athens, as reported by Google News GR — Crime (el). The defendants illegally obtained a total of €1,736,989.23 from the National Reserve, a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) mechanism established in 2015 to support new farmers and farmers beginning their operations.
According to the court, between 2019 and 2022, the defendants falsely claimed that they met the conditions for obtaining subsidy rights. They claimed that they owned or leased agricultural land in the Kastoria region in northern Greece, which they described as pastureland in good agricultural condition or areas with wild olive trees — despite the fact that they themselves were based in Crete.
The investigation revealed that no agricultural activity was ever conducted on the declared farmland. The plots were located thousands of kilometres away from the defendants' place of residence, did not belong to them, and in most cases did not belong to the persons presented as owners either. The evidence showed that the purported owners declared the farmland in their ownership statements only after subsidy applications had been submitted, and subsequently withdrew them.
Furthermore, the investigation showed that the declared agricultural activities were impossible for the specific region: there are no private plots with pastures in good agricultural condition at the relevant locations in Kastoria, whilst wild olive trees cannot survive there due to altitude and low temperatures. Beyond the amounts they received, the defendants unsuccessfully attempted to obtain an additional €165,949.68, applications which were rejected.
Two of the purported land owners, who allegedly leased the farmland to the defendants, were convicted of complicity in fraud. The court imposed custodial sentences of one to three years on all 57 convicted persons, with a three-year suspension. Fines ranging from €500 to €8,000 were imposed on 28 of them, whilst the court rejected all requests for recognition of mitigating circumstances.
One defendant was acquitted by majority vote, as he had repaid €32,320.31 corresponding to the subsidies received. The EPPO appealed against the acquittal on 6 July 2026, arguing that the repayment of money does not eliminate the damage suffered by the National Reserve, whose resources are irretrievably depleted once they are distributed illegally.
During the trial, reports from on-site inspections of the declared pasturelands were presented as evidence. The EPPO is now examining the potential criminal responsibility of three employees of OPEKEPE — the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Community Aid — who are alleged to have carried out the aforementioned inspections, as well as additional employees who approved subsidy payments in 2020 without verifying the legitimacy of the declared ownership and agricultural activity.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office is an independent institution of the EU with competence to investigate, prosecute and refer to justice offences directed against the Union's financial interests.
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)