Convictions Over False Subsidy Claims in EU Agricultural Scheme
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The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens announced the conviction of 57 individuals in Greece for defrauding the EU’s agricultural subsidy system, securing €1.7 million in payments from the National Reserve, a mechanism under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) intended to support young farmers and new entrants.
According to the ruling of the First Three Member Misdemeanours Court of Athens, the defendants falsely claimed eligibility for National Reserve entitlements between 2019 and 2022. They declared ownership or lease of farmland in the region of Kastoria in northern Greece, presenting the plots as productive pastures or land cultivated with wild olive trees — despite residing in Crete.
EPPO’s investigation found that no agricultural activity had ever taken place on the declared land. The plots were located roughly 1,000 kilometres from the defendants’ actual residence, did not belong to them, and in most cases did not belong to the individuals listed as landowners. Evidence showed that the purported landowners added the plots to their property declarations only after subsidy applications were filed, and later removed them.
The investigation also confirmed that the declared farming activities were agronomically impossible: the relevant areas of Kastoria do not contain private pastures in “good agricultural condition,” and wild olive trees cannot survive the region’s altitude and low temperatures.
As a result of the fraudulent scheme, the defendants unlawfully obtained €1,736,989.23 in EU agricultural subsidies and attempted — unsuccessfully — to secure an additional €165,949.68. Two individuals who allegedly leased land to the defendants were convicted for aiding and abetting the fraud.
The Court imposed suspended prison sentences of one to three years on all 57 convicted individuals, and fines ranging from €500 to €8,000 on 28 of them. All requests for mitigating circumstances were rejected.
During the proceedings, on site inspection reports for several declared pastures were submitted as evidence. EPPO is currently assessing the potential criminal liability of three OPEKEPE officials, as well as additional staff who approved subsidy payments in 2020 without verifying land ownership or agricultural activity.
One defendant was acquitted by majority after returning €32,320.31, the amount received in subsidies. EPPO has appealed the acquittal, arguing that repayment does not remedy the damage caused to the National Reserve, whose resources are irreversibly depleted once unlawfully allocated.
EPPO, headquartered in Luxembourg, is the independent prosecution office of the European Union responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests.
