- On Tuesday, the Greek police detained another 17 people for subsidy fraud.
- The police action in Thessaloniki was led by a specialized unit for the fight against organized crime.
- Since 2019, accomplices have been illegally demanding agricultural payments through farmer support centers.
- The European Prosecutor’s Office estimates the damage from fraud at more than 19 million euros.
Greek authorities announced on Tuesday that 17 more people were detained as part of the investigation into the alleged embezzlement of millions of euros from the agricultural subsidies of the European Union. The total number of people detained in this case has risen to 39 since the beginning of the week. As reported by the AFP agency, dozens of people detained in October 2025 must also be added to them.
The Greek daily Kathimerini added in its online version that Tuesday’s police operation was led by the organized crime unit in the port city of Thessaloniki.
The audited subjects were two farmer support centers (KYD) in Thessaloniki and in the city of Serres, through which the accomplices illegally requested agricultural payments since 2019. Alleged members of the criminal group were detained in Thessaloniki, Serres, Kilkis and Athens. The police estimate that the network’s illegal profits exceeded 4.5 million euros.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced in 2025 that it was investigating “massive and systematic” fraud and suspected money laundering related to the allocation of agricultural subsidies to Greek farmers through the former paying agency OPEKEPE. According to preliminary estimates, the damage exceeded 19 million euros. This scandal in Greece has already led to the resignation of three ministers and several state secretaries from the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
