Last week, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Bucharest referred a criminal case to the Bucharest Tribunal in which it charged three people, including one of the alleged leaders, with fraud worth €100 million involving EU and national funds,

One of the suspects, an Italian citizen, was arrested on February 5, 2025, and is believed to have led a criminal group involved in systematic fraud involving EU funds, according to the EPPO website.

The EPPO is headed by Laura Kövesi, the EU's chief prosecutor.

It has emerged that members of the organised crime group operated in Romania between 2019 and 2024, participating in tenders organised by the Romanian authorities through three Italian consortia.

These tenders, related to the construction and rehabilitation of drinking water distribution and sewerage systems, were conducted as partners of Romanian companies or as third parties.

Two of the consortiums used by the group had previously been banned by the Italian authorities from participating in activities linked to the mafia, which excludes them from receiving public funds under the Italian anti-mafia code.

Through the Italian consortia, the defendants participated in 23 tenders worth €300 million from EU funds financed by the Operational Program for Large Infrastructure Projects (LIOP) 2014-2020 and the Sustainable Development Program (SDP) 2021-2027. They managed to win 13 tenders as partners or supporters of Romanian companies, causing damages estimated at over €100 million.

To prove their financial capacity and experience in similar projects, they submitted false documents, including balance sheets certifying that the Italian companies had an average annual turnover of over €50 million.

In reality, according to the investigation, the turnover was 30 times lower. They also presented contracts for construction works in Iraq which, according to the evidence, did not correspond to the facts.

The case was reported to the EPP by the national authorities following suspicions of possible serious irregularities and fraud. The investigation benefited from the support of the EPPO's support structure in Romania and the Romanian police's Special Operations Department (Directia Operatiuni Speciale din cadrul Politiei Romane).

Based on the principle of loyal cooperation, the EPPO informed the Romanian Ministry of Investment and European Projects of weaknesses in the management of EU funds, highlighting the high risk of fraud. In several cases, foreign companies submitted false documents to obtain contracts.

The EPPO recommended strengthening verification procedures to better protect the EU's financial interests.

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Romanian courts.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecutor's office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice crimes against the EU's financial interests. | BGNES