ATHENS — Four current members of the Greek parliament are among 22 people formally charged Thursday by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged agricultural subsidy fraud that has shaken the Greek government.
The case stems from accusations that dozens of Greek livestock farmers fabricated ownership of grazing land in order to collect millions of euros in European Union subsidies. Prosecutors allege those farmers received assistance from government workers and conservative politicians in carrying out the scheme.
The fallout from the scandal has already led to the resignations of several ministers and triggered parliamentary investigations that have so far produced no definitive conclusions.
The EU has also penalized Greece financially over the misuse of funds that occurred between 2016 and 2023 through the government agency OPEKEPE, which is responsible for managing subsidy payments.
According to a statement from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, known as EPPO, the four sitting lawmakers face charges related to actions allegedly taken in 2021. Those charges include abuse of trust, unlawful management of EU funds, false attestation, and attempted computer fraud.
Prosecutors also announced they were dropping allegations against seven other lawmakers due to insufficient evidence.
Earlier this year in April, Greece’s parliament voted to strip 13 members of the ruling New Democracy party of their parliamentary immunity at the request of the European chief prosecutor, allowing investigators to move forward with their inquiries.
Following Thursday’s announcement, Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stated that the four indicted lawmakers are presumed innocent until proven guilty, as the charges involve misdemeanors.
EPPO also announced that the former head of OPEKEPE faces five counts of abuse of trust, while additional political staffers have been accused of misdemeanor-level offenses. The office noted that further investigations into alleged wrongdoing during other time periods remain active.
EPPO launched operations in 2021 and serves as the European Union’s independent prosecutorial body, focused on investigating and prosecuting crimes that harm the EU’s financial interests.
The indictments come just weeks after Greek police on the island of Crete arrested 20 individuals following the dismantling of a criminal organization suspected of helping farmers submit fraudulent applications for EU agricultural funding based on false land declarations.
