An investigation in Greece has convicted 57 individuals who falsely declared ownership or lease of agricultural land which did not belong to them and was never in agricultural use – in order to receive payment entitlements from the National Reserve to the value of €1,736,989.23.

The defendants also attempted to obtain an additional €165,949.68, but these applications were rejected.

The individuals were found guilty following an investigation at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

ADVERTISEMENT

The fraud took place between 2019 and 2022, and all 57 have been sentenced to prison, with sentences ranging from one to three years, suspended for three years.

False declarations

To support their applications, the defendants declared ownership or lease of agricultural land in the Kastoria region of northern Greece, claiming that the land was being used as pasture in good agricultural condition, productive pasture or areas cultivated with wild olive trees, despite being based in Crete.

However, the court found that no agricultural activity was ever carried out on the declared land, the plots were located 1,000km from the defendants' place of establishment, did not belong to them, and in most cases did not even belong to the persons presented as landowners.

Evidence showed that the alleged owners declared the plots in their property declarations only after the subsidy applications had been submitted, while in most cases they subsequently removed them from those declarations.

Agricultural activity

The investigation also established that the declared agricultural activities were questionable.

It noted that there are no private plots with pasture in good agricultural condition in the relevant areas of Kastoria, while wild olive trees cannot survive there because of the altitude and low temperatures.

Among the alleged landowners who had purportedly leased the plots to the defendants, two were convicted for aiding and abetting the subsidy fraud.

In addition, 28 defendants were fined between €500 and €8,000. The court rejected all requests for mitigating circumstances.

Inspections

The criminal liability of officials who allegedly carried out those inspections is being assessed by the EPPO, and the possible liability of additional officials who authorised subsidy payments in 2020 from the National Reserve, before verifying the legitimacy of the declared ownership and agricultural activity.

One defendant who had repaid €32,320.31 corresponding to the received subsidies was acquitted.

The EPPO filed an appeal against the acquittal on 6 July, taking the view that repayment does not eliminate the damage caused to the National Reserve, the resources of which are irreversibly depleted once unlawfully allocated.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union and is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.