On 19 December 2022, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Romania referred a criminal case to the Bucharest Tribunal Court, where 23 people have been indicted for participating in a criminal organisation operating in Romania and Austria to fraudulently obtain more than €5 million in EU and national funds. The funds were allegedly laundered through a complex financial mechanism.
The charges against the defendants include: establishing an organised criminal group; using false, inaccurate or incomplete documents or statements to obtain funds from the EU budget; money laundering; and illegally obtaining national funds.
Five of the suspects are civil servants, and are accused of falsification of documents.
Two of the defendants concluded a plea bargain on 16 November and one on 15 December. The plea agreements were referred to the Bucharest Court, and a final judgment is awaited.
In the course of this investigation, which started a year ago, the EPPO discovered that, since 2017, an organised criminal group had set up more than 150 fictitious companies and used them to fraudulently obtain EU and national funding.
The sums obtained by these companies from the EU and national budgets were usually withdrawn in cash from ATMs by various persons from the entourage of the organised criminal group members, after which they were handed over to them. The sums were subsequently used for the purchase of goods or services on behalf of other natural or legal persons, to conceal their illicit origin.
On 28 June 2022, 160 searches were carried out in Romania and Austria. During this operation, three luxury vehicles were seized, as well as 14 houses, 20 land properties, €105 480 in cash and RON 60 200 (around €12 000).
The investigation has been carried out with the support of police officers from the EPPO Support Structure in Romania, police officers from the Timișoara Organised Crime Brigade and police officers from the General Anti-Corruption Directorate within the Romanian Ministry of Interior (Central Structure and Cluj and Timișoara Operational Centres).
More about this case can be found in our 28 June 2022 and 29 June 2022 press releases.