Greece investigates large-scale fraud involving EU agricultural subsidies

Greek police arrested dozens of people across the country on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a scandal in which farmers allegedly falsified land and livestock ownership records in order to receive EU agricultural subsidies.

The case came to light after European prosecutors presented evidence this year that farmers and government officials had been defrauding the European Union of subsidies since at least 2019.

The scandal has rocked Greece, and a parliamentary committee has launched an investigation into the state agency OPEKEPE, which is responsible for administering agricultural subsidies and distributes €2.5 billion annually to hundreds of thousands of farmers.

According to police, 37 people have been arrested, most of whom are not farmers. The suspects also include employees from the private sector. Police estimate that the group received around €20 million in subsidies between 2018 and 2022, about half of which was illegal.

The raids and searches were coordinated in cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which investigates crimes against the EU's financial interests. Some suspects appear in both investigations.

(reuters, lud)