The Greek government has uncovered a massive fraud scheme involving more than €22.7 million in illegal agricultural subsidies paid out between 2019 and 2024, officials have announced.
Authorities have frozen the assets of 1,036 individuals and entities implicated in the case.
Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said the investigation, which is part of a wider probe by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, found the fraud was centered in Crete, where 850 of the cases accounted for approximately €17.2 million of the illicit funds.
The fraud was carried out through the agricultural payments agency, OPEKEPE, using methods such as filing claims on land belonging to deceased owners, falsifying livestock declarations, and faking property ownership, Mr. Chrysochoidis said.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis pledged that any recovered funds would be returned to the public.
The investigation has sparked calls for stronger controls over the distribution of EU and national farm subsidies.