OPEKEPE: 19 of 22 defendants sentenced over illegal subsidies
A Greek court has sentenced 19 of 22 defendants in a case involving alleged false declarations by producers in Crete to obtain agricultural subsidies through the OPEKEPE payment agency.
The Three-Member Misdemeanors Court handed 15 defendants prison sentences ranging from one to two years, suspended for three years, while four others were ordered to pay fines.
Court finds 14 guilty of subsidy fraud
The court found 14 defendants guilty as direct perpetrators of subsidy-related fraud involving payments ranging from €25,000 to €80,000 during 2019 and 2020.
The defendants were accused of misleading Greek and European authorities by declaring that they owned or leased land in remote areas of Greece.
The properties included land on the islands of Andros, Kasos, Kalymnos and Nisyros, as well as areas in mainland Greece, including Florina.
Five convicted as accomplices
Five additional defendants were found guilty as accomplices.
One received a one-year suspended prison sentence, while the other four were fined between €8,500 and €11,000.
The court, by majority decision, recognized the mitigating circumstance of a previously lawful life for 18 of the 19 convicted defendants, despite the prosecutor's recommendation that no mitigating circumstances be granted.
Case linked to European prosecutors’ investigation
The case stems from an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into OPEKEPE and alleged irregularities in the distribution of agricultural subsidies.
Some of the disputed properties were state-owned, while others had never been declared by the individuals listed as their owners.
The ruling follows a recommendation by European Prosecutor Dionysis Mouzakis that all 22 defendants be found guilty.
Source:ERT
