Greek authorities dismantle organized crime networks involved in OPEKEPE subsidy fraud

Over the past six months, the Greek Organized Crime Division, known as the 'Greek FBI', has conducted 'Operation Harvest' to target groups stealing agricultural subsidies from OPEKEPE. The investigation covers five separate criminal cases spanning from Crete to northern Greece. Authorities have identified 1,151 suspects linked to these schemes, which date back to at least 2018. To date, more than 90 individuals have been arrested, with 17 currently held in pretrial detention and approximately 40 released with restrictive conditions. While investigations are ongoing, initial estimates suggest the financial damage exceeds 17 million euros. These findings indicate that the fraud was orchestrated by organized criminal networks rather than individual producers as previously believed.