In its latest intervention in the case, the EPPO said it had referred information regarding the alleged involvement “in criminal offenses” of two former ministers overseeing the rural development and food portfolio to the Hellenic parliament.
“During this investigation, information emerged concerning the possible involvement of two former Ministers in aiding and instigating the misappropriation (breach of trust) of EU agricultural funds during the exercise of their official duties,” the EPPO said in a statement.
The statement did not name the ministers but Greek and EU officials, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said it referred to Makis Voridis, who was agriculture minister from 2021 to 2023 and is now migration minister, and Lefteris Avgenakis, who was agriculture minister from 2023 to 2024 and is now an MP.
Voridis, in a social media post, said: “I have not committed any criminal act in the course of my duties.” He would comment further once aware of the file. Avgenakis did not respond to a request for comment.
In the scam, straw men — typically from Crete — were able to fraudulently obtain EU funding for pastureland because the now-defunct OPEKEPE, Greece’s payment agency for EU community aid, did not require proof of ownership to disburse the funds. When an internal auditor at the agency blew the whistle, she was sidelined.
Meanwhile, when top OPEKEPE bosses did investigate the matter, they were forced out on more than one occasion by the agriculture minister of the day.