On 6 December 2022, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) referred a criminal case to the Iași Court, in Romania, where one company registered in Italy and three individuals were indicted for fraud concerning road modernisation works in the municipality of Ibănești, in the Botoșani county.
The charges against the defendants include using false documents to obtain funds from the EU budget, by falsely declaring works that were not carried out by the builder.
According to the investigation, the company, via three of its legal representatives and supervisors, falsely claimed that the works carried out on a portion of the road exceeded what was established in the contract concluded between the Agency for Financing Rural Investments and the municipality of Ibănești – namely in terms of the quality and the quantity of the works provided.
In particular, the contractor claimed it had built foundation layers with a width of 7 metres, instead of the actually constructed 5 metres, and of 5.5 metres for the asphalt layers, instead of the actual 4 metres.
In practice, the Italian company produced invoices for works that it did not accomplish, unlawfully receiving €101 000 (RON 497 463.80).