Greece court holds farming fraud suspects ahead of trial

Some of the alleged leaders of a transgression radical accused of siphoning disconnected millions successful Greek EU workplace subsidies person been taken into pre-trial custody, state media reported Sunday.

They are accused of having tally a longstanding fraud to get much than they were entitled from the EU farming strategy by boosting the fig of animals they owned.

Police arrested 37 suspects connected Wednesday and 8 of the alleged ringleaders were ordered held successful pre-trial detention astatine hearings implicit the weekend, state TV transmission ERT and the ANA quality bureau reported.

The lawsuit has enactment unit connected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, fixed that astir of the allegedly fraudulent subsidies went to Crete – his family’s powerbase.

“We will not backmost down, whatever the governmental cost,” Mitsotakis said connected Sunday of the inquiry, vowing that the blameworthy would beryllium punished.

He has pointed retired that the fraud, which Greek authorities estimation amounts to astatine slightest 23 cardinal euros, began successful 2016 – three years earlier helium came to power.

The charges the suspects look see being portion of a transgression organisation, fraud, obtaining mendacious certification and wealth laundering from transgression activity.

If convicted, they could look jailhouse terms of up to 20 years.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) described it arsenic a “large-scale cultivation backing fraud”, adding that astir of the suspects appeared to person nary nexus to farming.

“To conceal the illicit root of the proceeds, the suspects are believed to person issued fictitious invoices, routed the funds done aggregate slope accounts, and mixed them with morganatic income,” the EPPO said successful a statement.

Source: AFP