The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens has brought charges against a total of 22 suspects, including four active lawmakers of ruling New Democracy, among them one former minister, several former senior public officials and political figures. The charges are part of the investigation into the alleged organized scheme for fraud OPEKEPE involving agricultural assistance payments.
MPs Kostas Skrekas, Christos Boukoros and Maximos Senetakis reportedly face charges of instigation to commit breach of trust and instigation to the unlawful management of European Union funds. Katerina Papakosta also faces charges of instigation to false attestation and attempted computer fraud.
Charges against seven other serving members of the Greek Parliament, all of them ND lawmakers have been dismissed and the cases archived, EPPO noted in its press release on Thursday..
The EPPO is conducting several parallel investigations into an alleged organized fraud involving public officials of the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid (OPEKEPE), the national payment agency responsible for the administration of EU agricultural subsidies.
On April 24, 2026, the Hellenic Parliament approved the European Chief Prosecutor’s request to lift the parliamentary immunity of 11 serving MPs, allowing the EPPO to proceed with its investigations into alleged acts committed in 2021 and establish the facts of the case, seeking both incriminating and exculpatory evidence.
The investigations uncovered common patterns of corruption in the management of European agricultural subsidies funded under the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Evidence points, among other offences, to unlawful interference in administrative and control procedures, retroactive amendments to data after mandatory checks had been completed, illegal intervention in on-site inspections, concealment and alteration of audit findings, and the issuance of false certifications.
In relation to these investigations, which concern exclusively alleged offences committed in 2021, the EPPO has now brought charges against the former OPEKEPE president for five counts of breach of trust, the former director general of Direct Payments for two counts of breach of trust, as well as two former regional directors of OPEKEPE for breach of trust and unlawful management of EU funds.
Among those charged are also four serving members of parliament. Three are accused of instigating breach of trust, while the fourth is accused of instigating the unlawful management of European Union funds. One of the MPs faces additional charges of instigating the issuance of false certifications and attempted computer fraud.
The remaining defendants include an employee of the political office of a serving MP, an associate of a former minister, a public-sector veterinarian and several beneficiaries of agricultural subsidies.
They face charges for misdemeanor offenses, including subsidy fraud, attempted computer fraud and the issuance of false certifications in public documents. Some are also accused of corresponding forms of instigation in relation to offenses allegedly committed by senior public officials.
If convicted, the defendants face prison sentences of up to five years, as well as criminal financial penalties provided for under Greek law.
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