First Convictions in OPEKEPE Subsidy Fraud Case in Central Greece

The One-Member Misdemeanors Court of Athens handed down the first convictions on Monday in a wide-reaching scandal involving the misappropriation of EU agricultural funds through Greece’s OPEKEPE agency.

Thirteen individuals were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 to 40 months for their roles in submitting false subsidy claims for grazing land in Fthiotida, Central Greece.

The case marks the first sentencing in a broader investigation that has prompted multiple ongoing reviews by courts in Athens and resulted in financial penalties against Greece by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

The trial focused on fraudulent claims submitted during 2019–2020. According to the case file, 12 of the defendants received EU subsidies ranging between €26,000 and €91,000 each, based on false declarations of grazing land. In total, over €440,000 was disbursed from European funds under false pretenses.

The 13th defendant, a former president of the Agricultural Cooperative of Makryrachi, was found to have facilitated the scheme by allocating land to his co-defendants, including two siblings allegedly linked to a former local OPEKEPE official. The land involved was located in the Private Forest of Agoriani and in the area of Makryrachi, and was fraudulently registered as contiguous grazing land.

This case is expected to set a precedent for several related trials currently under way, as Greek authorities seek to clamp down on subsidy fraud and respond to EU pressure for greater oversight and accountability in agricultural funding.

(Source: Amna)