At the center of interest has been put on OPECEPEon the occasion of publications on “Millions of euros lost annually through irregularities and abuses.”

These speak of scams of tens of millions of euros a yearhowever, according to OPEKEPE sources, the information available to the organization show a completely different picture.

At the same time, the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Costas Tsiaras, has given a clear order to make the necessary controls systematically, while the bill that will soon come to Parliament will “close” the issue with the pasture maps.

Regarding, however, the data, the same sources say that the most recent cases transmitted to the prosecutor’s authorities relate to three cases, with a total of 15 aid applicants.

Of these, most of them have either never received money or returned the aid paid. The amount actually paid and investigated does not exceed 400,000 euros, which is 45 or € 170 million for which the reports speak.

“Presenting a particular incident as a general phenomenon is unfair.”commenting on the same sources of the Payment Agency at the Athens News Agency and add: “This is a process that is strictly controlled and the irregularities found are addressed immediately.”

In any case, information indicates that the aid granted on the basis of the land area are now subject to strict controls, with thousands of administrative and cross -checks performed each year. “The process is rigorous and based on a complex verification system designed to identify and prevent fraud.”the sources of OPEKEPE are typically mentioned.

However, the main and timeless problem faced by the auditors is that the landscape of agricultural land in Greece complicates the process. Failure to complete the cadastral and forest maps creates gray zones, in which individuals, OPECEPE’s sources, may attempt to exploit the weaknesses of the system.

“It’s not that there are no irregularities – in every subsidy system there will be some who will try to exploit it.”highlights OPECEPE executive and continues “The important thing is that the system detects these cases and refers to the competent authorities.”

The items and the case of the committed VAT IDs

In 2022, the Greek authorities carried out extensive inspections and committed “beneficiaries” who applied for animal -free grazing rights. These checks concerned beneficiaries with specific applications, which were checked, both administratively and on -site.

Due to the large number, the audit was completed in 2023 when the beneficiaries were asked to repay the amounts received illegally.

A total of 16,000 VAT were pledged, of which 10,500 came from the agrarian world of Crete.

The then Political Leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, and began control by OPEKEPE for one by one VAT.

She said that what had something was ephemeral was ordered to be brought to the prosecutor immediately.

The 16,000 VAT IDs referred to in the then relevant announcement of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning for the VAT IDs that had been delivered to multiple commitments and for many years.

The processing of the VAT IDs eventually revealed that the unique VAT ID was 7,786 VAT.

Of these 7,786, the Greek judicial authorities are 1,497 with two large cases of checks (ELTA and KOS-KALYMNOS).

The Financial Police are also investigating about 2,767 VAT IDs, for which the amounts have not been disclosed but also how many of them have been brought to justice.

Cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and subsequent moves

At the same time, and while the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Costas Tsiaras, he has made it clear that “The flow of European funds should not be at risk”sources of the Agency assure that they are fully working with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, providing all the necessary elements and clarifications.

As the same sources point out by talking to RES EIA “It is crucial to have patience and to wait for the completion of the research before rushing conclusions are adopted, which could bring the Greek farmers themselves to a difficult position.”

In addition, it is recalled that he has already initiated an ex officio investigation by the Athens Public Prosecutor’s Office on the subsidy case, in order to investigate all responsibilities and to punish those responsible, with the outgoing OPEKEPE President, Evangelos Simandrakos, to be the first to be the first to be the first to be deposit.

Indeed, the Ombudsman has criticized the OPEKEPE administrations and in particular the administration of Simandrakos, revealing extremely serious problems in the way the body operates, in terms of responsibility for the decisions they made and the procedures through which the Inside was operating.

In any case, the leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, in cooperation with the new OPECEPE administration, is already in the process of strengthening the control mechanisms to ensure transparency in agricultural subsidies.

At the same time, a 12 -month action plan is already being implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Plan, which, according to Mr Tsiaras’ associates, is expected to produce short results.

Finally, we recall the explicit mandate of the Minister of Rural Development and Food Costas Tsiara to the new administration for complete transparency in the Organization, so that the aid can be paid justice to the beneficiary producers and OPEKEPE operates under the EU rules.