An Athens court on Wednesday convicted 14 people of illegally obtaining European Union agricultural subsidies in 2020 through Greece’s payment agency OPEKEPE.
The Single-Member Misdemeanour Court handed down suspended prison sentences ranging from 10 to 18 months, with all terms suspended for three years.
One defendant received a reduced 10-month sentence after showing “sincere remorse”. His lawyer, Stefanos Hantziaras, told BIRN his client had himself been misled by others who assured him the submitted documents were legitimate.
The case is part of a wider scandal involving fraudulent claims for EU farming subsidies. In October 2025, Greek authorities arrested 37 suspects accused of submitting fake land ownership or lease declarations to OPEKEPE.
According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), between 2019 and 2022 Greek livestock breeders filed false statements claiming ownership or leases of land they did not control, defrauding the EU budget of €2.9 million. The fraud continued into 2024 with bogus livestock declarations used to secure rights to public grazing land and maintain subsidy payments.
In June, the EPPO notified the Greek parliament of suspected involvement by two former rural development ministers. Greek media named them as Makis Voridis (currently Migration and Asylum Minister) and Lefteris Avgenakis; both have denied any wrongdoing. Voridis subsequently resigned from his ministerial post.
Several other officials also stepped down, including deputy ministers Dionysis Stamenitis and Christos Boukoros, and the secretary-general of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Giorgos Stratakos.
A parliamentary committee is currently investigating OPEKEPE’s role in the affair.
Wednesday’s convictions can still be appealed.
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