By Elena Galari

Criminal prosecution for criminal organization, fraud related to grants, usurpation false certification and money laundering brought by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office against the 37 arrested for the OPEKEPE scandal.

Those arrested were taken to the European investigator and are expected to receive term to prepare their apologies.

According to an announcement by EL.AS., it is estimated that from all the activities of the organization, from 2018 until today, the damage caused to the interests of the EU and of the Greek State amounts to at least 5,017,662 euros, while expected to exceed 10,000,000 euros after full control.

The members of the organization were active in professionally and continuously committing the crime of fraud against the financial interests of the European Union and the national economy, illegally receiving aid from the Organization for Payments and Control of Community Aid Orientation and Guarantees (OPEKEPE), using false declarations in the Uniform Aid Applications (UAE) for illegal receipt of agricultural subsidies.

It is recalled that their arrest was carried out following a coordinated police operation that took place yesterday, October 22, in various regions of the country (Thessaloniki, Pella, Imathia, Heraklion, Crete, Athens, Ioannina, Santorini) by police officers of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of Northern Greece, with the assistance of police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of Crime, the Organized Crime Department of Crete and the Thira Police Sub-Directorate.

In this context they were arrested 36 members of the organization, including the leaders, as well as an accountantwho cooperated with the organization and assisted its action.

How EL.AS. reached her tracks

The investigation of the case began following an order for a preliminary examination by the Hellenic Office of European Authorized Prosecutors, with a time period for the execution of the acts from April 2018 to May 2022, as well as following information received by the Financial Crimes Prosecution Department of the Sub-Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of Northern Greece. During the execution of the above order, it was established by the above service that the activity of the circuit continued until today, with the same methodology, common leading members and the same intended purpose.

From the study, processing and combined analysis of all the pre-investigative material, it emerged the formation and action of a criminal organization, with a structured hierarchy and distinct roles, whose members acted together, active in committing criminal fraud throughout the territory, seeking to obtain illegal financial gain.

How did the organization work?

As far as the way of action of the organization is concerned, EL.AS. points out that its members identified eligible but undeclared parcels and pastures from previous years, which they then fraudulently registered in the E9 application of third parties, either members of the organization or persons acting as a “showcase”.

Registrations were often deleted in a short period of time or justified with unclear reasons (“update”, “A.T.A.K.”, “wrong registration”), submitted either through Declaration Reception Centers (K.Y.D.), or by using taxis codes, Single Aid Applications (E.A.E.), taking advantage of the specialized knowledge and experience of leading members, as well as procedural loopholes during the submission of applications, proceeded to mass declarations of parcels of land as “proprietary”, in the year 2025. In particular, applicants attached white stickers as alleged certificates from the Region or declarations of identity, thus avoiding certain registration obligations (ATAK) and facilitating the receipt of emergency aid, they declared to the E.A.E. false numbers of livestock, which were not compatible with the National Register of Livestock (often cattle in age groups with high M.Z.K. coefficients), in order to ensure increased eligibility and a larger area of ​​pasture from the public allocation, they collaborated to achieve their purpose with accountants and employees of K.Y.D., who undertook the pension, submission and processing of applications.

In fact, in the majority of cases the plots in question were located at a great distance from the places of residence of the alleged owners or tenants, thus making their cultivation impossible.

The role of each member

The members of the organization had developed distinct roles as follows:

– 38 years old, held the leading role in the organization, managed and coordinated criminal activity. Taking advantage of his specialized knowledge and experience in the process of submitting Unified Applications for Aid (UEA) that he acquired as a project manager in certified Declaration Reception Centers (K.Y.D.), he identified eligible plots of land and pastures in areas of the territory that were not declared by anyone. In addition, processed or submitted E.A.E. members, using their personal taxisnet codes, receiving monetary remuneration, while engaging in money laundering operations, through betting, car buying, interbank transfers and luxury living,

– 30-year-old, whose bank accounts were used to carry out operations that demonstrate acts of money laundering from criminal activities and appeared as the owner of IP addresses, from which processing or submission of E.E.E of members of the criminal organization was carried out,

– 68-year-old, he acted as an intermediary, as he received sums of money from members of the criminal organization and transferred them to the bank accounts of the 38-year-old, while his own bank accounts were also used to carry out movements that demonstrate acts of money laundering from criminal activities,

– 36-year-old, employee of the Declaration Reception Center (K.Y.D.), was processing or submitting E.A.E. members of the criminal organization and registered virtual electronic lease agreements from IP addresses belonging to him and another relative. Received and transferred money to and from members, while transferring money to the bank accounts of other senior members and a former senior member,

-54-year-old, in his capacity as an accountant, appeared in statements of involved persons that had been submitted to the A.A.D.E., while his contact details, as well as his residence or business address had been declared to the A.A.D.E. by members of the criminal organization. Furthermore, he had transferred sums of money to natural persons, who falsely appear as property owners, while he had received a sum of money from a leading member through a bank account,

Also, 11 people, key members of the organization, appear as owners and lessors of the misrepresented statements in the UAE real estate. Some of them had falsely modified their property status, they had also submitted false E.A.E. declarations. and had illegally received financial support, while many of them had carried out banking transactions with the leading members of the organization and a former leading member.

At the same time, 26 people, other members of the organization, submitted E.A.E. with false evidence of possession of real estate and/or livestock with the sole purpose of illegally collecting financial aid. Many of them had also carried out banking transactions with the chief members and former chief member.

The criminal organization had developed a structured and multi-layered system of legalization of the illegal income that came from unjustified agricultural subsidies, with the aim of concealing their illegal origin, avoiding controls and gradually integrating them into the economic everyday life of its members. Illegal aid was paid into the accounts of persons who had falsely declared property or livestock. In fact, several of the “beneficiaries” had not declared income from agricultural activity in the years 2023-2024, while their professional occupation was not related to the agricultural sector.

Regarding the collected amounts, these were immediately traded through transfers to other accounts, relatives or associates, in order to disassociate themselves from the original criminal activity.

It was also used natural persons as “intermediaries” for withdrawals, transfers or deposits, with the aim of further concealing the route of the money,
fictitious invoices were issued for non-existent transactions to justify the existence of amounts as alleged business income (in total, -393- invoices were identified, with a total value of more than -1.7- million euros).

Furthermore, betting accounts and financial technology applications were used for deposits and internal transfers, which made it difficult to trace, “laundered” money was used to buy high-value assets (e.g. cars, two-wheelers, agricultural machinery, watches, jewelry), cryptocurrency cards were used to further hide the origin of the money, while virtual transfers, changes of address or even marriage solutions, to avoid sequestration of assets.

What did the authorities find and seize?

During the searches carried out in houses, 2 Declaration Reception Centers (K.Y.D.), an accounting office, a store and 3 businesses, among others, were found and confiscated:

-14 I.X.E. cars, 4-wheelers and a harvester, as products of money laundering,
-2- cryptocurrency cards,
-jewelry and watches,
-11 mobile phones,
-computers,
-digital storage media,
– business stamps,
-number of units of sheep and goats and cattle,
-numerous documents and handwritten notes and
– the sum of 34,720 euros.

Also, 22 grams of raw cannabis were seized from the home of one of the defendants and a separate case was filed.

At the same time, the Authority for the Legalization of Proceeds from Criminal Activities froze the bank accounts of 29 involved persons, with a total content of 120,000 euros, a bank deposit box, as well as betting accounts for which a thorough investigation will follow.