ATHENS — A probe into a massive fraud involving hundreds of millions of EU farm funds in Greece is widening to include a former official from the ruling New Democracy party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
This new strand of the investigation follows a report in the in.gr website that Kalliopi Semertzidou, her partner and at least six other family members received €2.5 million in subsidies from OPEKEPE, the organization in charge of distributing EU farm funds in Greece, between 2019 and 2024.
Amid mounting pressure following the report, Semertzidou resigned from her post as coordinator of EU funds and women’s entrepreneurship in New Democracy.
She called the allegations “a targeted and slanderous attack with false claims” and also insisted in her resignation letter that her activities were “transparent and legal.”
The Greek office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, or EPPO, is now awaiting findings from the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which raided the offices of OPEKEPE on Wednesday. The raid sought information regarding EU subsidies received by individuals from the Thessaly region — including Semertzidou, according to officials involved in the investigation.
The authorities say that if they find evidence of illicit wealth or a lifestyle that does not align with declared income, they will freeze assets and forward the case to European prosecutors.
In a snowballing scandal, EPPO is pursuing dozens of cases in which Greeks received agricultural funds from the European Union for pastureland they did not own or lease, or for agricultural work they did not perform, depriving legitimate farmers of the funds they deserved. POLITICO first reported on the scheme in February.
Photos of Semertzidou’s lavish lifestyle, showing her driving a Ferrari and a Porsche, as well as selfies with New Democracy leaders, circulated on social media.
The couple says the subsidies received were all legal and that the luxury cars were bought many years before, while they have undergone several audits by authorities in the past and were cleared.
Meanwhile, farmers in northern Greece have begun protesting, citing delays in subsidy payments from OPEKEPE. Some payments have been frozen amid ongoing judicial investigations.
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