Inquiry report on Greece’s farm subsidy agency scandal approved as opposition cries cover-up

The findings, together with the evidence, will be forwarded to the plenary, where they will be announced and entered into the minutes. For this reason, the committee’s presidium will deliver the report to the speaker of parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis, on Friday morning so that the next steps can be taken.

MPs voted in favour of the findings submitted by their parties, with the exception of Course of Freedom, which did not submit a report. Its leader, Zoe Konstantopoulou, called for the committee’s work to continue, for a pre-investigation committee to be set up, and for the case to be fully investigated.

The committee chair, A. Nikolakopoulos, said the work began on 15 September 2025 and lasted five and a half months. He said the committee held 49 meetings and heard 76 witnesses in proceedings lasting about 350 hours, producing minutes totalling around 19,000 pages. He argued that the committee gathered material leading to conclusions and to the investigation of criminal responsibilities, shedding light on the case.

Earlier, a request by opposition parties to extend the proceedings was rejected by 17 votes to 13. The opposition had sought more time for cross-examination of witnesses, the summoning of additional witnesses, and to await any new case file arising from ongoing investigations by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

New Democracy: ‘Deep and longstanding problem’

On behalf of the governing majority, New Democracy MP Makarios Lazaridis said that, since both the EU anti-fraud body OLAF and the Greek and European judiciary can investigate any new evidence, New Democracy does not consent to an extension of the committee’s work. He argued that opposition parties were seeking to keep a ‘scandal’ in the news.

Lazaridis, the party’s rapporteur on the committee, said the majority chose to investigate the case fully, ‘without fear of witnesses’, without limiting the scope and without time limits. He said a committee of inquiry was chosen precisely to ensure depth and institutional completeness, adding that if clear indications of criminal liability had emerged, the process could have moved to a preliminary investigation committee, which he said did not happen.

According to Lazaridis, New Democracy’s report shows that OPEKEPE’s dysfunctions are not limited to one period in government but extend across different administrations. He said witnesses, senior officials, former administrations and political figures described recurring weaknesses such as a lack of controls, administrative distortions, computerisation problems, delays and unclear responsibilities.

He also argued that there is no evidence of an organised political or party group or ‘gang’ involving the participation, guidance or tolerance of the government or ministers of rural development since 2019. He referred to earlier governments, claiming that the period of SYRIZA’s government is linked to serious responsibilities over the implementation of the ‘technical solution’, which, he said, remains necessary until grazing management plans are completed.

Lazaridis said phenomena pointing to clientelistic practices had emerged, including individuals he claimed are linked to PASOK and its leader, Nikos Androulakis. He accused the opposition of artificially maintaining tension and repeating demands for a preliminary investigation, despite what he described as 350 hours of meetings, 76 witnesses and thousands of pages of minutes, and despite what he said was the absence of criminal charges arising from testimony.

He concluded that ‘the committee did its duty’, that justice will continue where necessary, and that the government will proceed with reforms so that OPEKEPE can be turned into ‘a modern, reliable and transparent payment mechanism’.

Opposition: allegations of cover-up and calls for pre-investigation

Konstantopoulou spoke of a ‘blurring’ of the process, describing it as a standalone criminal act aimed at protecting those responsible. She said Mitsotakis was not called to testify and stated that she will forward all the inquiry material to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

PASOK MP Milena Apostolaki said the inquiry into the OPEKEPE scandal was turned by New Democracy into a ‘laundry of responsibilities’ rather than a tool for clarification. She accused the government of a cover-up, comparing the case to the parliamentary handling of wiretapping, and referred to the decision of the single-member misdemeanour court of Athens in the Predator spyware case, which, she said, vindicated Nikos Androulakis.

Apostolaki argued that depositions strengthened indications that possible criminal responsibilities of former ministers Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis should be investigated. She spoke of a pre-planned approach and said the committee was turned into a mechanism for managing political cost.

Referring to specific testimony, she said the narrative of ‘longstanding problems’ had collapsed. She alleged an illegal mechanism for paying out millions of euros through the National Reserve, involving false declarations and obstruction of audits, describing a coherent and repetitive pattern of actions and omissions. She said the total amount reaches hundreds of millions of euros.

SYRIZA sources said that ‘the PM’s office has decided to see the cover-up plan through to the end’, arguing that despite the request of the entire opposition for an extension, New Democracy chose to close the proceedings without examining critical witnesses and all evidence that had emerged. In a statement, the party’s rapporteur, V. Kokkalis, said the committee’s work must continue, adding that SYRIZA had submitted requests throughout the inquiry for the summoning of key witnesses and for cross-examination, which, he said, the New Democracy majority repeatedly refused.

Nassos Iliopoulos, an MP and parliamentary representative of the New Left, referred to judicial developments in the wiretapping case, saying it was sent again to the prosecutor’s office for the investigation of criminal liability and the possibility of being upgraded to a felony.

On OPEKEPE, he spoke of ‘a mechanism for illegal access to subsidies through fake property titles’ and an explosive rise in beneficiaries, particularly in Crete, citing growth rates of 479% overall, 708% in Crete and 1,207% in private pastures in the period 2017–2020.

He claimed OPEKEPE identified the fraud as early as 2020, when Mr Varras announced findings and sent cases to prosecutors. He accused Voridis of removing Varras and changing audit circulars, limiting substantive checks on ownership. He also said that, under Avgenakis, thousands of blocked tax numbers were released through fast-track procedures.

Iliopoulos said the scandal continues, citing the case of a group of New Democracy agricultural unionists whose tax numbers had been seized, then released, and who, he said, continue to receive payments. He concluded that the New Left’s report calls for a pre-investigation committee into Voridis and Avgenakis for specific offences against the financial interests of the European Union.

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