The Greek agency staff responsible for distributing agricultural funds obstructed EU prosecutors in a corruption investigation, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses.
European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi promises to continue the investigation into alleged major fraud involving EU agricultural funds in Greece, despite „attacks” and „intimidation” against her staff, as reported by Politico.
Last week, officials from the European Public Prosecutor's Office faced physical resistance from employees of the Greek state agency OPEKEPE, responsible for distributing agricultural funds and at the center of the investigation.
On Friday, the Greek government was forced to dismiss the president of OPEKEPE for not cooperating with the EU investigation.
Kovesi wants an answer to a question
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is investigating dozens of cases where Greek citizens received EU agricultural funds for pastures they did not own or lease, or for agricultural work they never carried out, thereby depriving real farmers of the money rightfully due to them.
The fraud that has been unfolding for several years, involving millions of euros, was the subject of an investigation published by Politico earlier this year.
"I welcome the response of the Greek authorities to the recent developments at OPEKEPE, aiming to maintain effective cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor's Office," said Kövesi to the cited publication.
"I would like to reassure the general public that EPPO will continue its work diligently and impartially to establish the truth, regardless of the attacks and intimidations against its prosecutors," she said.
"I believe the immediate goal of these attempts is to divert the attention of the general public from what is truly at stake in this case: was there organized fraud and corruption in the field of agricultural subsidies, yes or no?", added Kövesi.
Tense Confrontation in Greece
Last Monday, European prosecutors conducted a search at the OPEKEPE headquarters, seizing digital data stored locally and in the cloud, as well as hard drives and mobile phones, according to EPPO and OPEKEPE officials.
Simultaneously, other searches took place at the regional office of OPEKEPE in Crete, as well as at the homes of four high-ranking officials and the residence of a former vice president of the organization, according to the same officials.
However, the raids in Athens turned into a tense confrontation. Two prosecutors, accompanied by 20 police officers, arrived at the OPEKEPE headquarters at 9:30 in the morning on May 19 but were prevented from accessing the requested data, according to the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
OPEKEPE employees claimed they could not provide the data due to the absence of technical advisors. After a few hours, the prosecutors asked the employees to make statements under their own responsibility confirming their inability to comply, which they refused to sign.
The prosecutors then asked OPEKEPE President Nikos Salatas to sign a statement under his own responsibility, otherwise risking arrest for obstructing justice, as announced by EPPO.
Eventually, he cooperated, and the prosecutors left the OPEKEPE headquarters only at 4:00 in the morning the next day, with everything they needed, according to the institution led by Kövesi.
War of Statements between Greek Officials and European Prosecutors
While this confrontation was unfolding in the building, OPEKEPE issued a statement asserting its full cooperation with the investigation. The next day, EPPO issued a statement harshly accusing the Greek agency of non-cooperation and suggesting the existence of possible systematic fraudulent practices involving OPEKEPE officials.
"The collection of digital evidence at the OPEKEPE headquarters proved to be particularly difficult and was significantly delayed until 4:00 this morning," stated the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
In response, OPEKEPE demanded that EPPO withdraw its accusations within 48 hours, threatening legal action to protect its reputation. Shortly thereafter, the Ministry of Rural Development announced the dismissal of Salatas from the head of OPEKEPE, citing public interest. Salatas, who had held this position since January, publicly refused to resign, claiming he was defending the organization's integrity. He was dismissed on Friday evening.
However, in a televised interview on Monday morning, Salatas claimed that "everything went perfectly during the raid." He mentioned that one of the prosecutors, Nikos Paschalis (who was not actually present in the building during the raid), wrote the harsh statement against OPEKEPE, accusing him of "serious slander" against Greece.
OPEKEPE has been under EU surveillance since September 2024 due to operational standard violations. The Greek authority now risks losing its certification for managing EU funds, which could happen in July when EU officials visit Athens to monitor progress.