- The role of political superiors is also under scrutiny. An investigation is underway to determine what they knew about the fraud.
- Auditors uncovered a massive scam involving blatant tricks hiding in plain sight.
- How OPEKEPE attempted to conceal illegal subsidies via an internal circular.
- This includes the dismissal of President Nikos Salatas, threats against European judges, the firing of a whistleblowing employee, and murky behind-the-scenes dealings.
- How a former president of the agency was removed after denouncing “entrenched interests” – only to be immediately appointed to the Maximos Mansion.
By Vaggelis Triantis
Today, Data Journalists published new evidence regarding subsidies granted to producers for the use of grazing lands from 2017 to the present. The findings, which stem from audits conducted by the Hellenic Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid (OPEKEPE) on applications submitted by Gaidouronisi land lessees during 2020–2021, concern payments made by OPEKEPE.
According to the audit reports, the same plots of land were shown as changing hands within just a few months. The inspectors informed OPEKEPE’s administration that these were “likely fraudulent applications” and possibly part of a “well-orchestrated scam,” which they said should be brought to the judiciary’s attention.
However, according to Data Journalists, the file containing the findings was never forwarded to the judiciary. OPEKEPE also issued a circular that “simplified” the criteria for inspecting grazing land ownership and leases. This allowed cases like the one on Gaidouronisi to slip under the agency’s radar.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is continuing its investigation into subsidies granted through 2024.
The key question now is whether any OPEKEPE employees acted under the direction of their political superiors. In other words, were political orders given to unlawfully distribute EU subsidies to producers in order to satisfy electoral clientelism? This would harm the EU budget and have devastating consequences for legitimate farmers.
Audit findings and notification of the administration
In 2021, a team of OPEKEPE inspectors audited applications submitted by Gaidouronisi producers for national reserve subsidies for the years 2019–2021 based on leased grazing lands.
According to the inspectors’ findings, a livestock farmer from Crete leased parcels of land to nine different lessees on Gaidouronisi in 2020. Notably, the declared parcels were mapped with striking precision on OPEKEPE’s official charts, suggesting that the lessees had access to insider information.
The inspectors noted that the Declaration Reception Center, through which the applications were submitted, and the producers themselves, seemed to possess crucial data and insights regarding the “eligibility” of the land. Notably, all the lease agreements were reportedly signed on the same day, and the total amount received by the producers was approximately €250,000.
In 2021, the same team of inspectors made a striking discovery. Although the grazing land leases signed in 2020 were valid until 2027, the lessees appeared to be renting land in different regions of Greece the following year—but not on Gaidouronisi. In other words, the supposed livestock farmers leased the grazing land for just one year, then abandoned it and moved on to other islands, leasing new plots there.
Furthermore, the plots they leased in 2020 now belonged to a different owner from Crete who leased them to new tenants. These new tenants also submitted subsidy applications to the national reserve. The inspectors became suspicious, as the alleged lessors were deemed “highly unlikely to own such vast tracts of land on a rocky islet that had been used to allocate public grazing land just a year earlier and that appeared to be under a different owner in 2021.”
The inspectors concluded that the applications submitted to OPEKEPE for these specific parcels were most likely fraudulent and that a well-orchestrated scam may have been in place.
In September 2021, the inspectors informed OPEKEPE’s administration and recommended referring the case to the judiciary and revoking the relevant K.Y.D.’s certification. However, according to Data Journalists, the case was never forwarded to prosecutorial authorities.
OPEKEPE’s circular has changed
OPEKEPE should have noticed the frequent change of ownership on the small island of Gaidouronisi. However, according to information obtained by Data Journalists, certain changes to the agency’s inspection guidelines—introduced through circulars by successive administrations and frequently modified starting in 2019—contributed to its oversight.
According to well-informed sources, administrative inspections for national reserve subsidies were carried out based on Circular 85112/2015 until September 2020. Under that directive, OPEKEPE inspectors were only required to check property ownership documents for the year of the application, not previous years. In practice, this meant that changes in land ownership went undetected from year to year. Things changed in October 2020. Grigoris Varras, now an associate professor at the University of Ioannina, was OPEKEPE’s president at that time. Varras was a personal appointee of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and was known for referring cases of alleged illegal subsidies granted by OPEKEPE to producers during the 2017–2020 period to the judiciary.
In a circular, the Varras administration introduced a number of new requirements for inspecting property ownership documents. Specifically, for privately owned agricultural parcels, inspectors were required to verify the E9 tax declaration of assets for the subsidy year in question, which the landowner submitted. Claimants also had to provide legal documentation proving ownership, such as contracts and proof of registration with the land registry.
For leased land, the required documentation included rental agreements, the E9 form for the review year, property titles from the cadastre, and similar records.
One year after his appointment, Makis Voridis, the Minister of Rural Development, requested that Mr. Varras be removed from his position as president of OPEKEPE. In public statements, Mr. Varras linked his dismissal to “organized interests” and “European subsidies.” Shortly after his removal, he was appointed special advisor to the Office of Administration and Organization at the General Secretariat of the Prime Minister. Following his dismissal, OPEKEPE’s administration issued a new circular that relaxed the requirements and simplified the documentation needed for inspections.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office Raids OPEKEPE
The EPPO has been investigating OPEKEPE subsidies for the use of pastureland from 2017 to 2024 for several months. In fact, on Monday, the Hellenic Police (EL.AS) raided OPEKEPE offices in Athens and Crete following an order from the EPPO. According to a statement released by the EPPO, the searches were “conducted in the context of an ongoing investigation into an alleged organized fraud scheme involving agricultural funds and corruption, with the involvement of public officials from OPEKEPE.” The announcement also stated that the illicit practices “may have been systematically orchestrated, involving members of OPEKEPE’s Board of Directors and staff.”
In March, the EPPO’s Athens branch filed a criminal complaint with the Athens Court of First Instance against 100 suspects for alleged fraud involving agricultural funds, causing €2.9 million in damages to the EU budget. This complaint was one of three sets of charges filed in recent months following investigations into networks defrauding the EU through pastureland subsidy schemes.
Whistleblower employee prosecuted for exposing the scandal
As previously revealed by data journalists, Paraskevi Tycheropoulou — the former head of OPEKEPE’s Internal Audit Department, who uncovered numerous irregularities in OPEKEPE’s subsidy system — is now enduring her own personal “Calvary.” According to sources, Ms. Tycheropoulou was removed from her position, and OPEKEPE has initiated three disciplinary proceedings against her. A lawsuit has also been filed against her. This is even though many of the violations she uncovered, which cost Greek and European taxpayers dearly, have led to criminal case files and the referral of individuals to trial.
Further political fallout and the dismissal of Nikos Salatas
In addition, since last September, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested that Ms. Tycheropoulou be seconded to its offices. However, the request was ultimately rejected by the Ministry of Rural Development following the firm refusal expressed by the current leadership of OPEKEPE, under former judge Nikos Salatas. Recently, Mr. Salatas drew sharp disapproval from the political leadership of the Ministry of Development and a group of officials close to the Prime Minister at the Maximos Mansion. This was in response to his direct attack on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office following its raid on OPEKEPE’s offices and his public threat to file a lawsuit against European prosecutor Nikos Paschalis.
On Friday afternoon, Kostas Tsiaras, the Minister of Rural Development, announced the termination of Mr. Salatas’s term at OPEKEPE, citing “compelling public interest,” according to an official ministry statement. The announcement emphasized: “This decision was prompted by the need to avoid any doubt regarding the assurance of smooth and effective cooperation between OPEKEPE and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in executing its auditing responsibilities.”
According to well-informed sources from Data Journalists, certain officials at Maximos Mansion insisted that OPEKEPE under no circumstances impede the efforts of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially considering the significant social impact of the Tempi train disaster. Although the issue has currently “lost momentum,” it still “haunts” the Prime Minister’s office ahead of autumn. Ultimately, Mr. Salatas was dismissed for his handling of the situation.
