58 on trial in OPEKEPE farm subsidies corruption case

Fifty-eight radical are successful the dock successful different lawsuit involving allegedly amerciable subsidies from the country’s disgraced cultivation payments agency, OPEKEPE.

The case, heard earlier the Athens Three-Member Criminal Court, centers connected claims that a coordinated web submitted mendacious declarations for non-existent onshore holdings and crops successful bid to unafraid EU-linked subsidies.

A cardinal prosecution witness – the erstwhile caput of an cultivation cooperative successful Kastoria, Western Macedonia  – testified that the strategy progressive large-scale misreporting of farmland. He said helium was forced to resign aft receiving threats pursuing his complaints.

According to his testimony, thousands of hectares were falsely declared arsenic pasture oregon farmland successful areas where such enactment is not viable. He told the tribunal that successful 2020 helium sought authoritative information from OPEKEPE and was informed that 6,400 hectares had been registered arsenic grazing onshore successful his area.

“I was told astir 22,000 olive trees and 17,000 almond trees,” helium said, noting that such crops cannot turn successful Kastoria’s climate. He added that the onshore successful question was described arsenic privately owned, a assertion helium knew to beryllium untrue.

“I’m a fifth-generation livestock farmer; there are nary holdings larger than 10 hectares. That doesn’t exist. I present understand however the crippled was played due to the fact that if there was an on-site inspection and it passed, it means that OPEKEPE employees were besides successful connected the game,” helium said.

He besides described a so-called “technical solution” under which onshore belonging to section residents was declared by individuals from Crete, enabling them to improperly assertion subsidies.

In 1 illustration cited, onshore located astatine an altitude of 1,100 meters connected Mount Vitsi was allegedly declared arsenic an olive grove, contempt unsuitable alpine conditions.

Defense lawyers rejected the accusations, arguing that immoderate irregular claims were the effect of errors alternatively than deliberate fraud. “The information that some wealth was claimed unjustly does not mean intent,” 1 lawyer representing 31 of the defendants told the court.

The trial is ongoing.