OPEKEPE scandal: Thousands of livestock missing – “Big Farmers” blame wolves
A major scandal has erupted within OPEKEPE (the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid), which manages agricultural subsidies.
Inspections revealed that several so-called “big farmers” falsely declared inflated numbers of livestock in order to receive millions of euros in unjustified subsidies.
In many cases, farmers offered implausible explanations for the discrepancies. The most common excuse was “wolf attacks.” However, audits showed striking differences between the number of animals recorded on paper and those actually found on farms.
In Southern Greece, one farm declared 850 sheep and goats, yet inspectors counted only 650 on site — a discrepancy that allegedly brought the owner an extra €55,000 per year in subsidies.
In Northern Greece, another case involved documents listing 650 cattle, but only 150 were located during the inspection.
“On paper they are ‘big farmers,’ but in reality they are small,” said Nikos Kakkavas, President of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Geotechnical Employees. He explained that inspections carried out for foot-and-mouth disease and organic livestock revealed that many producers appeared much larger on paper than in reality, receiving two to three times more support than they were entitled to.
The scandal raises serious questions about oversight and accountability in the distribution of EU agricultural funds in Greece.
