ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ: 20 arrests in the case of EU subsidies

In Greece 20 people were detained in the case of fraud with agricultural subsidies EU through ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ. The damage is estimated at more than 3 million euros.

Greek police carried out a new operation on the case ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ: detained 20 peoplesuspected of fraud with agricultural subsidies EU. According to Reuters, the amount of illegally received payments exceeds 3 million euros.

The operation took place on Crete and in Attica. The investigation believes that this is not about individual “errors in declarations,” but about an organized scheme that worked for several years. A wonderful Greek classic: European money was allocated for agriculture, and for some reason the “harvest” was collected by completely different people.

At the center of the matter – Illustration Προσανατολισμού και Εγγυήσεων (ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕOrganization of payments and control of public subsidies, orientation and guarantees). It is through this structure that payments of European agricultural subsidies pass.

Among those detained, according to media reports, are: two accountants and several persons associated with Κέντρα Υποδοχής Δηλώσεων (ΚΥΔdeclaration acceptance centers). These centers help farmers and livestock breeders apply for payments. In theory, it’s a service for agricultural producers. In practice, as the investigation suspects, some of these structures could become a convenient door to the budget trough.

According to the authorities, participants in the scheme submitted applications for subsidies using false or fictitious information. The money was allegedly not distributed in full: only a portion of the amount could reach the recipients, and the organizers of the scheme took the rest.

The detainees must be taken to the prosecutor’s office Rethymnoafter which the materials will go into the sphere Ευρωπαϊκή Εισαγγελία (European prosecutor’s office). This isn’t just a local matter: it’s about money. European Unionwhich means the investigation goes beyond the Greek bureaucratic kitchen.

Political tail of ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ

The new operation takes place against the backdrop of a big scandal surrounding ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕwhich has long smelled not of hay, but of politics. European prosecutors are investigating schemes involving fictitious pastures, false declarations of land and livestock, and possible help from officials and intermediaries.

The scandal is painful for the government Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the ruling party “New Democracy”. When real farmers complain about delays in payments, and at the same time schemes worth millions of euros pop up, stories about the “digital state” no longer sound like reform, but like a bad joke with an expensive advertising campaign.

A separate blow is to the agricultural producers themselves. Honest farmers undergo checks, wait for payments and drown in papers, while others, according to investigators, have been turning European subsidies into a private ATM for years. The state again looks as if it strictly controls the weak and has a surprisingly poor view of the strong.

If the charges are confirmed, the case ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ will be further proof of a simple thing: the problem is not only scammers. The problem is in a system where European money, weak control, bureaucratic connections and political cover lived side by side for too long and clearly did not complain about the neighborhood.

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