Greek Farmers Misappropriate €22 Million EU Subsidies Amid National Probe

Greek farmers and agricultural companies have been found to have wrongly received over €22 million in European Union farm subsidies between 2019 and 2024 through falsified land ownership claims, prompting a major investigation. Police raided the offices of OPEKEPE, the state agency managing EU farm aid, seizing hundreds of thousands of tax records as authorities scrutinized more than 6,000 subsidy applications, uncovering fraudulent claims linked to over 1,000 recipients. The European Union fined Greece €392 million for mismanagement of subsidies between 2016 and 2023, and the government plans to transfer OPEKEPE's responsibilities to the state revenue authority to enhance oversight and transparency. Several senior OPEKEPE officials and ministers, including Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis, have faced investigations or resigned amid the scandal, although some deny wrongdoing. The case has been referred to the Greek parliament and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, with ongoing legal proceedings and asset seizures, as the scandal has damaged the popularity of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government. Authorities are also investigating potential criminal organizations involved, with some subsidy payments made for non-existent or ineligible land, even including terrain outside Greece.