(Luxembourg, 18 December 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Iași (Romania) has filed an indictment against five individuals, including a public official, and three companies for fraud involving a €850 000 project for modernising irrigation systems, funded by the EU.
The indictment concerns an agricultural cooperative that obtained approximately €850 000 (RON 4.3 million) in EU funding for a project to modernise irrigation systems. The main defendant, the cooperative’s de facto president, together with its statutory president, is accused of misleading Romania’s Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) by submitting false documents stating that the cooperative had a board of directors and that a general assembly had approved the funding application, as well as the project’s conditions and technical parameters. The investigation established that the cooperative did not legally exist, had no board of directors, and did not convene a general assembly to approve the application for funds.
In addition, based on the evidence, the public procurement procedure for selecting the company to implement the project was manipulated in order to benefit a pre-determined company owned by one of the defendants and formally administered by his wife. It is understood that a significant portion of the funds was laundered through transfers to one of the main defendant’s companies, allegedly disguised as the reimbursement of a loan.
A public official holding a management position at a regional office of AFIR is also accused of facilitating the illegal acquisition of EU funds between 2018 and 2023, by approving fraudulent payment requests and by disclosing confidential information. In return, the official is accused of receiving material benefits, and has been charged with corruption and complicity in subsidy fraud.
Earlier in this investigation, in order to recover the damage to the EU budget and any judicial expenses, the EPPO also froze bank accounts and seized real estate held by the suspects, worth an estimated €.1.3 million.
If found guilty, the defendants face prison sentences of up to 10 and a half years for aggravated subsidy fraud and up to 10 years for money laundering and passive corruption. Active corruption is punished with two to seven years’ imprisonment. The companies face fines and confiscation, and the court may also suspend or dissolve them, place them under judicial supervision or prohibit them from participating in public procurement.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Romanian courts of law.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.