- These subsidies, amounting to €120,000, were granted from 2019 to 2023 for 2,630 olive trees owned by the Air Force Share Fund.
- The subsidies were received by the wife of a senior OPEKEPE executive.
By Vangelis Triantis
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is scrutinizing the case of subsidy payments through the Hellenic Agricultural Payments Organization (OPEKEPE) for olive trees on the grounds of the Elefsina military airport, following revelations by Data Journalists.
The subsidies, totaling €120,000, were granted from 2019 to 2023 for 2,630 olive trees owned by the Air Force Share Fund and located in open areas of the airport.
The subsidies were received by the wife of a senior OPEKEPE executive who leased the trees from the Hellenic Air Force in 2019 for the stated purpose of harvesting olives, as specified in the “olive tree lease agreement.”
According to sources, the data journalists’ report has been brought to the attention of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. An investigation is expected to determine if offenses of fraud and breach of trust against the EU’s financial interests have been committed.
Notably, the lease agreement in question makes no mention of obtaining subsidies, only harvesting olives from the trees.
Notably, the subsidy application was submitted through a Declaration Submission Center whose owner and family members are currently defendants in a case involving pastureland subsidies in the Grammos region. Just a few days ago, European prosecutor Kalliopi Dayanta recommended convicting all seven defendants.
The 2019 Lease Agreement for the Olive Trees
The lease agreement for the olive trees at Elefsina Military Airport was signed in August 2019.
At that time, the lessee’s husband was the head of OPEKEPE’s Directorate of Technical Inspections, a position he held until the summer of 2020. He then moved to OPEKEPE’s Internal Audit Directorate.
According to a report by the Data Journalists, the agreement involved leasing 2,630 olive trees located in open areas of the Elefsina military airport for an annual rent of approximately €2,900.
Σκάνδαλο ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ: Επιδοτήσεις σε ιδιώτες για το στρατιωτικό αεροδρόμιο Ελευσίνας
Two tenders were held in January and February of 2019 for the lease of the same olive trees, before this lease agreement was signed. However, as stated in the contract, no interested parties participated in either of the tenders. In May 2019, the relevant unit of the Air Force Share Fund conducted negotiations for the lease. The only interested party to appear was the wife of the OPEKEPE official.
According to the contract terms, the lessee was responsible for the “exploitation of the olive trees,” which included the “right to harvest the olives” from 2019 to 2022, i.e., for four “cultivation years,” as described. The lease also set out specific obligations for the lessee. For example, she was required to “maintain the olive trees,” “prune the suckers and, where necessary, the trees themselves and collect the branches,” and “spray the olive trees annually with appropriate pesticides.”
Furthermore, the lessee was responsible for all expenses related to cultivation, security, plowing, clearing, irrigation, pruning, maintenance, fertilization, weed or disease control, and fruit harvesting. She was also explicitly forbidden from transferring the use of the leased property, in whole or in part, to any other individual or legal entity or from assigning any rights or obligations arising from the lease to another party.
The subsidies granted by OPEKEPE
The lessee submitted an application to OPEKEPE in 2019 to receive subsidies as a new entrant to the agricultural industry.
By 2024, she reportedly received a total of €117,000 in subsidies. Specifically, from 2019 to 2022, she reportedly received between €25,000 and €30,000 annually. However, in 2023 and 2024, the amounts dropped significantly. In 2023, she received €735; in 2024, she received €1,150.
A careful reading of the lease contract reveals that it does not mention the lease being eligible for subsidies.
More specifically, Article 4 of the contract states that the olive trees are leased without irrigation water. Meanwhile, Article 5 clearly states that any other use of the leased property is strictly prohibited, except for the intended purpose of exploiting the olive trees on the property.
Additionally, as stated in the lease agreement, “During the lease period, if a possibility arises to exploit the property in a way not covered by the agreement that results in additional income, the lessee may submit a written request to utilize the property in this way. At the same time, the lessee must propose an appropriate additional rent, which will be evaluated by the Board of Directors of the Air Force Share Fund according to its criteria and procedures.”
The prosecutor recommended convicting the owner of the Declaration Submission Center
Notably, the subsidy application for the olive groves at the military airport was submitted through the Declaration Submission Center. The center’s owner and family members are defendants in the pastureland case in Grammos. Just a few days ago, European prosecutor Kalliopi Dayanta recommended the conviction of all seven defendants.
“The defendants have committed the acts attributed to them,” the prosecutor stated, asking that their claims of legal error, good faith, and elimination of criminal liability due to repayment of funds to OPEKEPE be dismissed.
The Prosecutor’s Fierce Statement
“Real farmers are being harmed unfairly because ineligible individuals are effortlessly taking a portion of their share simply by presenting private lease agreements,” she stressed.
She requested that documents be forwarded to the European Public Prosecutor to investigate criminal acts of serious fraud and breach of trust against the EU’s financial interests by OPEKEPE employees who conducted inspections and approved the paperwork of the accused. She also called for an investigation into those who failed to take effective measures to ensure the lawful allocation of funds and prevent potential fraud against Greek citizens who received subsidies.
