EPPO charges four Greek MPs over CAP subsidy fraud ring
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged four sitting Greek MPs and former senior officials over an organised scheme to manipulate EU agricultural subsidies, exposing systemic flaws in the bloc's farm subsidy controls.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought criminal charges against 22 suspects, including four sitting members of the Greek parliament, over an alleged organised fraud ring targeting EU agricultural subsidies. The defendants also include several former senior public officials, political aides and subsidy beneficiaries.
The case centres on OPEKEPE, the Greek government agency responsible for managing funds under the Common Agricultural Policy. Because these agricultural subsidies represent a major flow of European public money, the integrity of national paying agencies is a critical concern for the continent's agricultural economy. Prosecutors allege the network systematically corrupted this distribution process in 2021 through illegal interference in administrative procedures, retrospective data tampering and the concealment of inspection findings.
The former president of OPEKEPE faces five counts of breach of trust, while the former director general for direct payments faces two counts. Two former regional directors of the agency are charged with breach of trust and unlawful management of European Union funds.
Three of the sitting MPs are charged with incitement to commit breach of trust. A fourth MP faces charges of incitement to commit unlawful management of EU funds, incitement to make false attestations and attempted computer fraud. The Hellenic Parliament approved the lifting of parliamentary immunity for 11 sitting MPs on 24 April 2026 to allow these investigations to proceed.
The remaining defendants include an employee at a sitting MP’s political office, an associate of a former minister, a state-employed veterinarian and several subsidy beneficiaries. They face misdemeanour charges such as subsidy fraud and making false statements in public documents, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison alongside criminal financial penalties under Greek law.
Charges against seven other sitting MPs and two former MPs were dropped due to insufficient evidence. The EPPO stressed that "all material was assessed objectively and impartially, with equal attention paid to both incriminating and exculpatory evidence". Criminal proceedings continue for three former MPs, and the prosecutor’s office noted that parallel investigations into similar acts committed in other years are ongoing.
