The Greek government has announced it will shut down the state agency OPEKEPE, which is at the centre of a major EU fraud investigation involving agricultural subsidies.
The move follows resistance by OPEKEPE employees to EU investigators from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the dismissal of the agency’s president for obstructing the probe.
EPPO is investigating widespread misuse of EU farm funds by Greek citizens for fictitious agricultural activity, a scheme first exposed by POLITICO.
European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi has vowed to continue the investigation despite “attacks” and “intimidation” against her staff.
The Greek government said farm payments and oversight will be transferred to the Independent Authority for Public Revenues, with OPEKEPE staff moving over.
“After efforts to modernise OPEKEPE internally, which did not yield the expected results,” the government stated, it will now act “in cooperation with the European authorities … to address the problem once and for all.”
The agency will be fully phased out by late 2026, with legislation due by July.
OPEKEPE has been under EU supervision since September 2024 and faced losing its certification in July for failing to meet operational standards.
