Greece has intensified its crackdown on alleged misuse of European Union agricultural subsidies, with police arresting 20 people in Crete as part of an expanding investigation into fraud linked to EU farming funds.
The arrests were carried out on Monday by Crete’s organised crime unit in coordinated raids across the regions of Rethymno, Heraklion and Lasithi. Authorities say the suspects were part of a network that allegedly obtained agricultural subsidies through false declarations and fabricated land lease agreements.
Those detained include two accountants and three officials from local declaration reception centres, who investigators believe played central roles in facilitating the scheme.
According to police estimates, the group illegally secured more than €3 million (US$3.4 million) in EU agricultural payments over a period of less than five years. Around 90 additional individuals are also under investigation in connection with the case.
The case forms part of a broader inquiry into misuse of funds under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, which has faced repeated scrutiny in Greece over recent years.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office has previously identified irregularities in Greece’s agricultural subsidy system covering the 2018–2022 period, raising concerns about systemic weaknesses in oversight and verification mechanisms.
Just days before the latest arrests, an Athens felony appeals court convicted 13 individuals in a separate subsidy fraud case involving illegal payments in the northern region of Serres, highlighting the scale and persistence of the problem.
At the centre of the controversy is the former Greek agricultural subsidy payment agency, OPEKEPE, which was dissolved in 2025 following repeated EU fines and allegations of systemic fraud.
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Responsibility for managing agricultural subsidy payments has since been transferred to Greek tax authorities, as part of efforts to strengthen oversight and reduce opportunities for abuse.
The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the bloc’s largest budget items, designed to support farmers, stabilise food production and sustain rural economies across member states. However, it has long been vulnerable to fraud risks due to complex eligibility rules and reliance on land and production declarations.
Investigators say the Crete case illustrates how organised networks can exploit administrative gaps by falsifying land ownership or lease documents to claim subsidies for non-existent or ineligible farmland.
The widening probe reflects increasing pressure on Greek authorities to demonstrate stronger enforcement after years of criticism from EU institutions over subsidy management failures.
Officials say further arrests and prosecutions are likely as investigations continue into suspected networks operating across multiple regions.
The case also underscores broader challenges within EU member states in ensuring transparency and accountability in large-scale agricultural support programmes.
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As scrutiny intensifies, authorities in Athens face the dual task of recovering misused funds while restoring confidence in the integrity of agricultural subsidy systems that are critical to rural livelihoods across the country.
