ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek farmers misappropriated EU agricultural subsidies worth more than 22 million euros between 2019 and 2024 by faking land ownership, a minister said on Tuesday, following a police investigation that has shaken the government.
Greek police raided the Athens offices of OPEKEPE – the government agency tasked with supervising and paying EU subsidies – in July, seizing hundreds of thousands of farmers’ tax records.
So far, police have found that hundreds of Greek farmers have misappropriated EU subsidies worth at least 22.67 million euros ($26.54 million), after scrutinising more than 6,000 out of more than 800,000 applications, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said in a televised statement on Tuesday.
“We can’t and we should not tolerate people coveting precious public money, whether it’s state or European,” Chrysochoidis said. “It’s our duty… to activate all available mechanisms, to prevent, and whenever needed, investigate, identify and punish offenders.”
In March, European prosecutors said they had charged dozens of Greek stockbreeders who received EU financial aid with making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland.
The EU in June imposed a 392 million-euro fine on Greece over the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies between 2016 and 2023 by OPEKEPE, which handles more than 2 billion euros in annual EU farm aid.
Some senior OPEKEPE officials who EU prosecutors have investigated for their alleged roles in the fraud have denied wrongdoing. The government has said it will soon transfer OPEKEPE’s responsibilities to Greece’s state revenue authority to improve transparency.
EU prosecutors have referred the case to the Greek parliament, the only body to investigate politicians. The parliament will set up a committee to look into OPEKEPE’s handling of the EU subsidies.
The conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis – who won a second term in 2023 – has seen its popularity fall amid the scandal which has led to the resignation of four ministers who have also denied wrongdoing.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Angeliki KoutantouEditing by Ros Russell)
