OPEKEPE: Serious Charges Filed Against the “22” by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought extremely serious felony charges against those arrested in Crete over illegal OPEKEPE subsidies, in a case involving an alleged criminal organisation.

According to reports, the delegated Greek European Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the 22 suspects, depending on their level of involvement, for the following offences:

• Forming and participating in a criminal organisation primarily aimed at committing multiple acts of fraud
• Leading a criminal organisation
• Fraud involving subsidies, committed jointly against the financial interests of the European Union and the Greek state, exceeding €120,000, carried out repeatedly and in collaboration
• Direct complicity in fraud
• The suspects have now been referred to an investigating judge and are expected to request — and receive — time to prepare their defence after reviewing the evidence gathered against them by the authorities.

It is noted that a total of 22 people are implicated in the case, including two accountants who are related to each other and who, according to the case file, were responsible for recruiting those involved and overseeing the entire operation.

Another 95 individuals are also connected to the case, each allegedly playing distinct roles. Some were owners of declaration submission centres, others landlords of agricultural plots, and others tenants.

As for the financial dimension of the case, authorities estimate that between 2019 and 2024 the suspects fraudulently obtained a total of €2.7 million. In addition, 46 more cases are currently under investigation, involving an estimated further loss of €1.2 million. The total damage is therefore expected to exceed €4 million once the investigation into the 2025 data is completed.

At the same time, the supervising prosecutor of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (DAOE) has ordered the freezing of assets. So far, the bank accounts of 18 of the suspects have been frozen, with more than €355,000 seized in total. Authorities have also confiscated vehicles, cash, gold sovereigns, documents and other evidence expected to assist the investigation.

The case file is described as extremely extensive and includes felony charges such as forming a criminal organisation, money laundering and aggravated fraud.