Greek Police Arrest Dozens Of People Related To EU Subsidized Land Fraud Scandal

UNSPLASH/Cosmin ILLUSTRATION Andrei Buzamat

JAKARTA - Greek police have arrested dozens of people in connection with an investigation into a scandal over the forgery of land and livestock ownership by farmers to obtain EU agricultural subsidies.

The case comes as European prosecutors say it has found evidence that farmers and state officials have tricked the European Union into gaining subsidies, at least since 2019.

The case rocked Greece, with the parliamentary committee holding an investigation into the OPEKEPE government agency, which handles agricultural subsidies and distributes aid of 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) annually to hundreds of thousands of farmers.

Thirty-seven people were detained, police officers said on Wednesday, October 22.

Most of them are not farmers. But among the suspects there are private employees.

Polisi memperkirakan jaringan yang diduga menerima subsidi sebesar 20 juta euro pada periode 2018-2022 dan sekitar setengah dari bantuan keuangan tersebut diperoleh secara ilegal.

Wednesday's raids and searches were coordinated with the European General Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) investigating crimes against the European Union's financial interests.

Greek police also launched a separate investigation, with several suspects identified in both investigations.