Stories of daily absurdity have long played out in the agricultural sector, culminating in a massive subsidy scandal involving OPKEPE. Among the most shocking cases include a military battle wing being converted into farmland, Lake Karla declared as arable land, and protected Natura network areas handed over for illegal subsidies.
According to recent reports published by Greek newspaper “Ta Nea,” revelations about the OPKEPE scandal go beyond imagination. One particularly notable case involves the declaration of 7,812,923 goats and sheep for subsidies in Crete alone in 2024 — an implausible number that raises serious questions.
One whistleblower, Larissa-based farmer Kostas Mitrodemos, revealed documents showing that in 2019, the Metochiko Tameio Aeroporias (Aeropolis Monastic Fund) supposedly leased 2,630 olive trees on 600 stremmas of land to the 112th Combat Wing in Elefsina. The alleged annual subsidy for these non-existent olive trees reportedly amounted to around €120,000 per year from 2019 to 2023.
Former Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Christos Boukoros also raised alarms back in 2021. In an urgent letter, he informed the then-Minister of Rural Development that 2,500 stremmas of public land within Lake Karla — earmarked for a major environmental restoration project worth €200 million — were illegally claimed by individuals from Lagkadas since 2017 and receiving subsidies.
Another surprising revelation involves biological beekeeping in Greece. Applications for subsidies reached €170 million, while the allocated budget was only €18.9 million. Even more alarming is the case of a monastery in Crete, where relatives of monks allegedly leased Natura-protected grazing lands from the monastery itself, collecting thousands of euros in subsidies.
These shocking allegations are just the beginning of what promises to be a long and deepening investigation into misuse of agricultural funds.