Bottas: AADE 'Glitches' in Subsidy Case

Agricultural unionist Giorgos Bottas attributes the freezing of his accounts and €126,000 in subsidies for 'phantom fields' to 'glitches' in AADE (Independent Authority for Public Revenue).

Speaking to SKAI, Mr. Bottas stated that the transfer of OPEKEPE (Paying Agency of Common Agricultural Policy) to AADE caused these problems. He said he discovered the freezing of his accounts and the subsidies he received since 2019 by chance.

Mr. Bottas claimed that he rents farmland every year and perhaps the owners have not identified their E9 form with the Land Registry.

The case is being investigated by the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, following an order from Appeals Prosecutor Dimitris Gkyzis, as part of a check for illegal agricultural subsidies. The checks focused on the Single Aid Applications (EAE) submitted by Giorgos Bottas to OPEKEPE for the years 2019 to 2024.

The audit revealed that 17 plots of land declared by Bottas did not correspond to real properties, as they did not appear on the E9 declarations of the alleged lessors.

According to OPEKEPE, Giorgos Bottas received €49,021.14 for the 'phantom fields'. In total, for the period 2019-2024, he received €126,448.66.

The investigation led to the freezing of the agricultural unionist's bank accounts.