Four Greek MPs indicted in EU farm subsidy fraud case

The European Public Prosecutor's Office said Thursday that four Greek members of parliament were among 22 people indicted in an alleged multi-million-euro fraud scheme involving European Union farm subsidies.

The office said the defendants also included several former senior public officials and political staff. EU prosecutors estimated in October that the bloc lost more than 19.6 million euros, or $22.5 million, from the alleged scheme. Greek authorities last year estimated damages of at least 23 million euros.

The case has put pressure on Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and has led to the resignation of several Greek government ministers and other officials. The indicted people include a former political secretary of the ruling New Democracy party and several former officials of OPEKEPE, the state agency that distributes the subsidies. One is a former chairman of the agency.

The prosecutor's office said accusations involving the lawmakers include instigation to commit abuse of trust, instigation to unlawful management of EU funds, and instigation to false attestation and attempted computer fraud. The lawmakers are under investigation for allegedly helping dozens of private individuals claim subsidies for land they did not own and overstate the number of animals on farms.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office said evidence indicated unlawful interventions in administrative and inspection procedures, retrospective changes to data after mandatory checks, interference with on-site inspections, concealment and manipulation of inspection findings, and false certifications. Some people who received payments had no link to agriculture. Most of the fraudulent subsidies went to Crete.

If found guilty, the defendants face prison terms of up to five years and fines. The prosecutor's office said allegations against seven other members of parliament and two former lawmakers had been dismissed because of lack of evidence, while three former members of parliament remain under investigation.

The alleged scheme began after the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy started calculating subsidies based on land rather than livestock in 2014. At the time, Greece's incomplete land registry left ownership unclear across much of the country. Farmers were therefore allowed to declare land owned elsewhere in Greece to claim subsidies.

OPEKEPE said about 80 percent of subsidies for pastures granted from 2017 to 2020 ended up in Crete. The number of livestock farmers in Greece is decreasing, but 13,000 new farmers were registered in Crete from 2019 to 2025, and the number of declared sheep and goats doubled over the same period. Cases under investigation include pastures declared on archaeological sites, olive trees in a military airport, and banana plantations on Mount Olympus.

Mitsotakis, who says the fraud began before he came to power in 2019, has vowed to imprison those responsible and recover the funds. Greek elections are scheduled for next year. His conservative party leads in opinion polls, but is not expected to secure an absolute majority.