A European investigating magistrate released 10 of the 17 core suspects in a €7.6 million EU agricultural subsidy fraud investigation in northern Greece on Monday, after all 10 denied the charges.
Prosecutors, meantime, revealed the broader case implicates 317 individuals who allegedly filed false land lease agreements for non-existent crops or plots owned by deceased citizens.
The 10 were freed under restrictive conditions including regular check-ins at police stations and international travel bans.
Charges include forming a criminal organization, money laundering and subsidy fraud exceeding €120,000.
One defendant said investigators would find nothing illicit in his bank accounts; another, a woman, claimed her identity had been stolen by people she trusted.
European prosecutors estimate direct losses to OPEKEPE, Greece's EU farm payment agency, at €4.5 million, with total funds under investigation reaching €7.6 million.
Of the 317 implicated, 276 are alleged beneficiaries rather than organizers.
The seven suspects identified as the principal organizers of the northern Greek operation are due to give depositions on Tuesday.
The case is the latest in a widening EPPO-led prosecution of agricultural subsidy fraud across Greece.
Related investigations have now produced more than 1,400 defendants across multiple regions, with combined estimated losses to EU funds exceeding €25 million — making it the largest coordinated agricultural fraud enforcement operation in Greek legal history.