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(Luxembourg, 18 April 2024) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca and (Romania) is carrying out searches today in several locations, including public institutions, in the county of Botoșani, in an investigation into a €160 000 fraud involving EU funds intended to boost the employability of young people.
The searches are being carried out at the homes of one public official, three former public officials, and six other individuals involved in the suspected criminal activity; in the premises of the Botoșani County Employment Agency, and in the premises of the five organisations having received the grants. Twenty individuals, both suspects and witnesses, will be brought to the police unit’s premises for questioning.
According to the investigation, between 2018 and 2021, the suspects obtained several grants related to projects that would support young people to boost their employability, find an apprenticeship or traineeship, and help them accessing the job market. The grants were all funded from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the total amount obtained was €160 000.
The suspects are believed to have submitted documents with incorrect data to the Botoșani County Employment Agency to be eligible for the grants. It is alleged that officials of the employment agency helped the organisations operating in the vocational training sector to fill out the applications for the grants and ultimately receiving them.
According to the evidence, the projects were not carried out and the trainings to boost young people’s employability did not take place.
The searches are mobilising dozens of police officers from the Suceava Organised Crime Brigade (Brigada de Combatere a Criminalității Organziate) and the Romanian Gendarmerie - Botoșani County Gendarmerie Inspectorate (Jandarmeria Română – Inspectoratul Judetean de Jandarmi Botoșani).
The 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.