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On Sept. 22, 105 defendants will appear before the Misdemeanor Court of Heraklion in what is described as the largest trial for subsidy fraud against the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid (OPEKEPE) and the European Union.
Court documents reviewed by Kathimerini show that defendants allegedly submitted false applications for leased pastures and farmland that in reality never belonged to the listed owners.
The applications included contracts that prosecutors say were forged.
One case from 2021 involved a woman in Heraklion who applied for subsidies on three leased pastures and an olive grove.
Among the declared properties was an 87,000-acre pasture in Argos, supposedly rented for just €2 ($2.37) a month.
Prosecutors note that “the lessors did not own the parcels of land, nor did the accused ever lease them, nor cultivate them, but knowingly submitted false declarations to receive subsidies.”
Although her tax number was frozen by OPEKEPE before payment, she faces charges of attempted fraud.
In other cases, however, applicants succeeded in collecting funds that reached up to €60,000.
Documents also describe another Heraklion farmer who allegedly filed false subsidy claims in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The contracts attached to these claims were also deemed fake.
Investigators found that some individuals appeared as landowners in one set of documents, only to later submit their own subsidy requests on the same properties.
According to defense lawyers, the fraudulent applications took place between 2019 and 2021. They came to light after a complaint and through internal audits at OPEKEPE.
The cases were first forwarded to prosecutors in Athens and then distributed to local courts. One case has already been tried in Larissa, while another is pending in Chania.
The trial comes as OPEKEPE announced a new deadline for farmers and landowners to complete subsidy paperwork.
The agency said that the deadline for transferring Basic Income Support Rights for Sustainability has been extended until Monday, Sept. 22.
The extension also applies to the modification or cancellation of applications already submitted for the 2025 support year. The procedure is carried out exclusively through the online platform “Basic Income Support Rights for Sustainability 2023–2027.”
OPEKEPE emphasized that any applications saved in the system but not finalized by the deadline will not count and will be considered as not submitted for 2025.
The dual developments show both the challenges and the stakes in Greece’s farm subsidy system:
The court proceedings in Crete and the approaching OPEKEPE deadline mark a decisive week for Greece’s farm sector, as the government faces pressure to safeguard EU funds while ensuring farmers comply with support rules.
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