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EU hits Greece with record fine over farmers subsidy fraud
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
The EU fined Greece €392.2 million for subsidy fraud, reducing future subsidies by 5%. OPEKEPE will merge with tax authorities to prevent future issues.
(Reuters) -The European Union has imposed a 392.2 million-euro ($451.9 million) fine on Greece over a major scandal involving the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies by a government agency between 2016 and 2022.
The bloc's Executive Commission decided to reduce the subsidies Greece will receive in the next years by 5%, it said on Friday, reflecting the view that there has been no proper supervision and operation of the subsidy management model for years.
Greece expected to receive about 1.9 billion euros in direct EU subsidies next year.
The fine comes months after European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers who received EU financial aid through the Greek government paying agency OPEKEPE with making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has said that the majority of the 100 suspects did not live where they had declared in their applications for funds from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
Greece last month promised to overhaul OPEKEPE, in charge of paying out annual subsidies to farmers worth about 2.4 billion euros, by merging it into the country tax authorities, with international consultants assisting in the transition.
($1 = 0.8678 euro)
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens; Writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
The European Union has imposed a fine of 392.2 million euros ($451.9 million) on Greece due to a scandal involving the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies.
The EU decided to reduce Greece's subsidies by 5% for the coming years, citing a lack of proper supervision and operational oversight.
European prosecutors have charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers for making false declarations to receive EU financial aid through the Greek government agency OPEKEPE.
Greece has promised to overhaul OPEKEPE by merging it with the country's tax authorities to improve the management of annual subsidies worth about 2.4 billion euros.
Greece is expected to receive approximately 1.9 billion euros in direct EU subsidies next year.
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