On 9 June 2023, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) submitted a plea agreement to the court of Bucharest (Romania), where the mayor of the commune of Tigveni (Argeș County) admits to having committed subsidy fraud prior to his mandate.
The defendant acted, at the time of committing the offences, as the president of an association of animal breeders located in the same commune.
Between 2016 and 2020, the defendant applied to receive agricultural funding in the name of the members of the association from Romania’s Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture (APIA) – Argeș County Centre. For each funding application, the defendant submitted documents regarding consent, identification data, the number of animals per member of the association and the area allocated to each member. However, according to the accusations, those documents were falsified by forging the signatures of 33 persons.
As a result, the defendant obtained a total of RON 851 177.59 (around €185 000) in subsidies, between 2017 and 2021.
In the presence of the lawyer of his choice, the defendant expressly stated that he admits having committed the offences for which he was charged, accepts the legal framework for which the criminal proceedings were initiated and agrees with the penalties imposed. These include 2 years and 2 months’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of 3 years, and a prohibition from occupying a management position at the association of animal breeders or at any other association, for a period of 3 years after the final judgment. In addition, the defendant shall perform unpaid work for the community for a period of 90 days.
The APIA joined the lawsuit as a civil party, in order to be reimbursed for the total amount paid. The EPPO seized bank accounts in the name of the defendant and the association, in order to recover the damage to the EU budget.