The case involving illegal subsidies from OPEKEPE appears to be taking on nationwide proportions, as authorities are investigating the possibility that those involved may have made false declarations outside of Crete as well. According to the investigation’s findings so far, the amount allegedly embezzled exceeds 2.7 million euros, not including subsidies scheduled to be paid out in 2025.
The 20 individuals arrested in Crete are expected to be transferred to Athens to appear before the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the accused include a sitting deputy mayor and two accountants.
According to information from the Greek Police, two more individuals were arrested in Attica, a fact that reinforces the assessment that the ring was not geographically limited to Crete alone. In total, the case file includes 116 individuals, and according to the investigation, two brothers are alleged to have played a leading role in the organization’s operations.
Authorities estimate that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office aims to bring to justice not only the ring’s key members but also those who are alleged to have received illegal subsidies from OPEKEPE over the past five years.
The investigation focuses on cases of individuals who falsely declared agricultural land and presented themselves as farmers, even though they had no professional connection to the agricultural sector. According to the case file, those involved allegedly used the scheme to gain access to European subsidies through fictitious declarations.
During the searches conducted yesterday, police authorities located and seized a total of 355,000 euros in cash, which is being examined as potential proceeds of criminal activity.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues to determine the full scope of the case and whether there are additional individuals involved in other parts of the country.
The official statement from the Hellenic Police
“The Organized Crime Division of Crete has dismantled a criminal organization, whose members were engaged in the professional and serial commission of the felony of fraud against the financial interests of the European Union and the national economy, by unlawfully receiving subsidies from the Payment and Control Agency for Community Aid for Guidance and Guarantees (OPEKEPE), through the use of false statements in the Single Applications for Aid (E.A.E.) to illegally obtain agricultural subsidies.
To dismantle the organization, a coordinated police operation was carried out in the early hours of Monday, May 25, 2026, in various areas of Crete and Attica by officers from the Crete Organized Crime Division, with the assistance of special units from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime as well as the Police Directorates of Heraklion, Lasithi, and Rethymno.
In this context, 22 members of the organization were arrested, including the two leaders, while the case file includes an additional 116 individuals.
Charges were filed against them—as applicable—for forming a criminal organization, fraud related to grants, making false affidavits, and money laundering.
As revealed by the months-long, thorough investigation, the criminal organization had been in place since at least 2019 and operated with distinct roles and an organized structure.
Two accountants played a leading role; exploiting their knowledge of the process for submitting aid applications to OPEKEPE and the system’s loopholes, recruited owners and managers of Declaration Reception Centers (KYD), as well as individuals who appeared as lessors or lessees of agricultural parcels.
More specifically, the members of the organization:
- They exploited access to the OPEKEPE cartographic database through cooperating Declaration Reception Centers (KYD) in order to “freely” identify and eligible agricultural parcels that had not been declared by their actual owners,
- falsely registered the parcels under the names of natural persons, without any actual relationship of ownership or cultivation, while fictitious lease agreements were drawn up between alleged lessors and lessees.
- submitted inaccurate E.A.E./O.S.D.E. declarations, resulting in the unjustified payment of agricultural subsidies from European Union and Greek government funds, while
- part of the illegal subsidies was distributed to the organization’s members, with the funds also used to cover financial obligations related to the continuation of criminal activity.
Through this methodology, fictitious leases of agricultural plots were created, ensuring the illegal receipt of financial aid from EU funds, while six Declaration Reception Centers (DRCs) played a decisive role in the realization of the organization’s criminal purpose.
Regarding the roles of the members of the criminal organization, it emerged that:
The two accountants held the leading role in the organization, overseeing central coordination and determining its structure, roles, and modus operandi. They recruited the other members, leveraging their knowledge of the Single Aid Application submission process and the operations of the OPEKEPE system, while directing the creation of fictitious lease agreements and the submission of false declarations for the purpose of illegally obtaining agricultural subsidies,
6 individuals, acting as representatives of Declaration Reception Centers (DRCs), provided access to the cartographic database and data on eligible agricultural parcels held by OPEKEPE, identified “unclaimed” land, and provided the necessary technical support for the submission of false E.A.E./O.S.D.E. declarations, thereby substantially contributing to the execution of the illegal process,
17 individuals acted as lessors of agricultural parcels, granting access to their personal information and passwords for electronic platforms so that agricultural parcels they did not actually own would appear falsely in their asset declarations. At the same time, they participated in the drafting or use of fictitious lease agreements and in the submission of inaccurate declarations to establish illegal eligibility for subsidies;
71 individuals acted as tenants—recipients of subsidies —by appearing as tenants of agricultural parcels and submitting inaccurate E.A.E./OSDE, thereby unduly receiving financial aid from European funds and acting on behalf of the criminal organization with the aim of obtaining illegal financial gain,
other collaborating individuals provided support in the management of documents, financial data, and bank transactions, while they assisted in the movement and concealment of illicit proceeds, thereby aiding in the maintenance and continuation of the organization’s criminal activity.
It should be noted that the evidence was derived from data obtained from the OPEKEPE database, following a relevant order by the Prosecutor supervising the DAOE as well as from searches of residences, accounting offices, KYD, and other locations, with the assistance of the Sub-Directorate of Digital Forensic Investigation and Analysis of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Digital files, bank records, documents, handwritten notes, and related material documenting the organization’s activities were seized and analyzed.
During searches conducted at residences and business premises, the following items, among others, were found and seized:
- 5 private cars, as proceeds of criminal activity,
- 110 sheep, goats, and cattle,
- a revolver with 50 rounds
- the sum of 12,870 euros, and
- numerous documents related to E.A.E. declarations, deposit receipts, account statements, invoices, title deeds, leases, client lists from K.Y.D. and accounting firms, and handwritten notes.
At the same time, asset freezing orders were issued, and so far the bank accounts of 18 arrested individuals have been frozen, containing a total amount of over 355,000 euros.
According to the investigation’s findings so far, the total illegal financial gain obtained by the criminal organization between 2019 and 2024, to the detriment of the financial interests of the European Union and the Greek State, is estimated at at least 2,733,995 euros, excluding pending grants for the year 2025.
The arrested individuals will be brought before the competent prosecuting authority based on the case file compiled against them.”