Greek police arrest 20 suspects in Crete subsidy fraud scheme

Greek police have detained 20 members of an organised criminal group in Crete that exploited the OPKEPE agricultural subsidy programme. The operation, conducted by the Crete Organized Crime Unit, targeted the network in Heraklion, Rethymno and Lasithi and is the third coordinated raid in recent days.

The suspects include two accountants from Rethymno identified as the group's masterminds, three officials of the local reception centres (K.Y.D.), and other individuals who used falsified land declarations to siphon more than €3 million from OPKEPE since 2019. The detainees will be transferred to the European Prosecutor's Office in Athens for further interrogation. Minister for Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochodidis emphasized that only a few families are involved, not the broader Cretan farming community.