Agriculture: EU subsidy fraud: 37 arrests in Greece

In the scandal surrounding embezzled EU agricultural subsidies, 37 people were arrested in nationwide raids in Greece. They are said to be members of a gang that swindled at least 5 million euros in subsidies through false statements, as reported by the public broadcaster ERTnews, among others, citing police circles. The reports say that the amount could double after all the data has been evaluated.

Authorities arrested

Those arrested are said to be, among others, employees of the Greek authority that was responsible for awarding EU agricultural subsidies until the scandal was discovered. The alleged gang members are said to have, among other things, posed as owners of agricultural land that did not belong to them in order to obtain subsidies.

The government closed the authority in May this year due to ongoing scandals and inconsistencies and placed the allocation of agricultural subsidies under the control of the central tax and finance office AADE. According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has been investigating since 2024, up to 170 million euros in subsidies could have flowed unfairly between 2017 and 2021.

Investigation of political entanglements

Greek and EU investigators are now investigating the events together; During the first successful investigations in September, the accounts of around 1,000 farmers and agricultural businesses were frozen because the suspected fraudsters are said to have swindled more than 22 million euros in subsidies – some even claimed agricultural land in neighboring North Macedonia and received money for it.

In parallel to the police investigation, an investigative committee was set up in the Greek parliament to clarify political responsibility for the scandal. This is not just about possible failures within the administration, but also about potential involvement of political actors. The committee has already invited several former officials and active politicians to testify.