The 15 suspects arrested in Crete in connection with the criminal organization that was receiving illegal subsidies from OPEKEPE arrived on Sunday morning at the offices of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office on Loukareos Street.

Earlier, the 15 had arrived under draconian security measures at the port of Piraeus after being transferred from Crete on Saturday night by a scheduled ferry.

Upon the ship’s arrival from Heraklion, a riot police van entered the ship’s area to escort the bus transporting the detainees.

According to local media, nine of the detainees departed on Saturday night in a police van and six in conventional vehicles, heading to the port of the Cretan city, from where they were transferred by ferry to Attica.

How the criminal organization operated

The modus operandi of the criminal organization that collected €1.7 million in illegal subsidies from OPEKEPE is described in the Hellenic Police (ELAS) announcement regarding the arrests carried out on Friday by the Greek FBI.

It is recalled that the alleged leader of the organization is the well-known agricultural trade unionist Myronas Chiletzakis, who has appeared on television channels discussing sector-related issues and has extensive activity promoting organic products in Crete, and who is also president of the National Union of Small Agricultural Cooperatives.

Among those arrested are the accountant and director of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Heraklion, Giorgos Lambrakis—who is also the best man of PASOK president Nikos Androulakis—as well as his wife, Chrysanthi Koutantou, a lawyer by profession.

According to ELAS, the illegal subsidy ring operated as follows:

• They submitted false Single Payment Applications (E.A.E.) to OPEKEPE.
• They declared agricultural plots—owned, leased, or inherited from deceased persons—without evidence of lawful possession.
• They recruited new members with ease due to the participation of core members in agricultural cooperatives and in Declaration Reception Centers (KYD).
• They recorded in the E9 tax declaration land areas that had been declared in their applications and were far from their place of residence, while these areas were simultaneously removed from the declaration within a short period.
• They declared common purported lessors or deceased owners of agricultural plots.
• In the false applications, they declared bank accounts that did not belong to the applicants but to the leadership or key members of the criminal group.
• They declared livestock holdings that were not actually held, either in whole or in part.

To avoid detection by law enforcement authorities, they exploited the specialized knowledge of their members, procedural loopholes, and their participation in corporate entities within the agricultural sector.

As announced by the police, members of the group included employees at four Declaration Reception Centers, contributing to the entry and finalization of the relevant Single Payment Applications (E.A.E.), which are estimated at 143 for the years 2019–2025. At the same time, there were individuals with accounting expertise who facilitated the criminal group’s activities.

Police also identified 11 bank accounts whose beneficiaries were different individuals from those who submitted applications for financial aid—among them an individual who died in 2024, whose account showed deposits and withdrawals even after his death.

In total, there are 16 arrested persons, while the case file compiled for—depending on the individual—forming a criminal organization, subsidy-related fraud, obtaining false certification, prevention and suppression of proceeds from criminal activities, and violation of legislation on sworn declarations, also includes 26 additional natural persons.

During searches of homes, a Declaration Reception Center, an accounting office, and vehicles, authorities found and seized, among other items, €35,750 in cash, one gold bar, and 19 gold sovereigns.

The detainees are expected to be transferred on Saturday night to Athens by scheduled ferry in order to subsequently be brought before the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.