The presumed leader of a vast network of embezzlement of European agricultural subsidies in Greece has been placed in pre-trial detention, bringing the number of people in prison in connection with this investigation to ten.
Suspects arrested, suspected of being involved in EU agricultural aid fraud and money laundering, according to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), are escorted by plainclothes police in Athens on October 23, 2025. (Photo: Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
Athens – Following a lengthy hearing before a European prosecutor, the man suspected of having organized a large-scale fraud involving EU aid, aged 38, reportedly acknowledged part of the facts against him while claiming that “these acts were committed by many people,” the ANA news agency reported on Monday.
Thirty-seven people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with a “massive and systematic” fraud, as well as “money laundering activities,” according to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office based in Luxembourg.
The amount of damage to the European budget has been estimated at nearly 20 million euros.
According to the public television channel ERT, the core leadership of the organization consisted of the alleged leader, his father, his ex-wife, and an employee of a declaration reception center on the island of Crete.
The latter, who denies the charges, has also been placed in pre-trial detention.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis assured on Sunday that he wants to do everything possible, “regardless of the political cost,” to shed light on this matter. (October 27, 2025)
