For the first time, a Greek court ratified a plea bargaining agreement in a case involving illegal agricultural subsidies paid by OPEKEPE.
The case concerns 32 defendants from Northern Greece who allegedly received more than €250,000 in unlawful subsidies between 2016 and 2018.
Seven of the defendants returned €165,000, admitted to the fraud, and requested a separation of their case in order to enter plea bargaining proceedings. The charges included fraud against the European Union, forgery, money laundering, and false certification.
The court accepted the request, approved the plea agreements, and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 2 years and 3 months to 3 years, suspended for three years.
Proceedings for the remaining 25 defendants were adjourned until February 5, as five of them were not represented by legal counsel. Most of the remaining defendants deny the charges, arguing that the indictment is vague and legally flawed.
Source: Naftemporiki
