The Greek police on Thursday released details regarding the operations of an alleged criminal network believed to have fraudulently obtained nearly €2.5 million in agricultural subsidies through the country’s payments agency, OPEKEPE.
Fourteen Greek nationals were arrested in raids in the Kozani and Agrinio regions as part of “Operation Harvest,” conducted by the police’s organized crime unit. Authorities said the suspects included the alleged ringleader of the group and its “coordinator.”
The police announcement said the network submitted hundreds of fraudulent applications to OPEKEPE – the state agency responsible for administering European Union agricultural subsidies – between 2019 and 2024. Investigators allege members falsely claimed ownership or lease rights to farmland to qualify for payments.
According to police, many of the declared plots were actually owned by public bodies, local authorities, state agencies, renewable energy companies and private businesses. Members of the group also allegedly posed as landowners and fictitiously leased land to third parties to create the appearance of legitimacy.
The announcement said the network spread the false claims across numerous applicants and used multiple declaration processing centers to avoid detection. Two employees linked to such centers allegedly played key roles in submitting and finalizing applications while also filing fraudulent claims of their own.
