Image
Published on
(Luxembourg, 4 January 2024) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Ljubljana (Slovenia) has filed an indictment at the District Court in Maribor against an association and its legal representative, for subsidy fraud involving three Erasmus+ projects, financed by the EU.
Between 2019 and 2021, the legal representative of an association based in Maribor applied for three tenders that were published by the MOVIT Institute, Slovenia’s Institute for the Development of Youth Mobility (Zavod za razvoj mobilnosti mladih) under the Erasmus+ programme. The association undertook to perform youth exchanges, including with young Roma people, for which it received EU funds amounting to around €65 000.
However, despite numerous requests from the MOVIT Institute, the association did not complete any of the activities planned under the projects, nor did it submit any of the final reports on the performed activities, as required under the agreements. According to the investigation, carried out with the support of Slovenia’s Police Directorate Maribor (Policijska uprava Maribor), the legal representative of the association used part of the funds for paying the association’s debts, and the other part for personal purposes.
The investigation has shown that the accused acted with criminal intent, with the knowledge that none of the EU-financed projects would be executed.
According to the Slovenian Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP), the defence can still submit objections against the indictment to the court.
If convicted, the defendant faces a prison sentence of between one and eight years. The association may incur a fine, confiscation of property and forced liquidation.
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.