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Croatian business owner indicted for subsidy fraud

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Croatian version below

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) filed an indictment against a Croatian citizen today, 24 May 2023. The suspect is a small business owner and has been indicted for subsidy fraud and the forgery of documents.

It is alleged that between March 2015 and November 2021, the business owner unjustly obtained large-scale non-reimbursable grants for agricultural projects, which were co-funded by the EU’s European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD) and the state budget of the Republic of Croatia.

According to the investigation, the applications submitted by the suspect to Croatia’s Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development falsely presented having the financial means necessary for the implementation of the proposed projects. In addition, the suspect subsequently claimed to the agency that he had made payments to suppliers, which were never carried out. Lastly, he also falsely claimed that he had no debts to the state budget of the Republic of Croatia.

In total, the small business owner sent three requests for approval and payment of non-reimbursable support for his business projects. Based on one of the requests, the paying agency paid €221 873.84 (HRK 1 671 708.46) to the bank account of his business. As for the remaining two requests, the payments were not carried out. This is because in the meantime, the agency had discovered that the suspect owed public duties to the state budget of the Republic of Croatia.

The estimated damages to the EAFRD amount to €188 592.76 (HRK 1 420 952.20), and the damages to the state budget of the Republic of Croatia are estimated at €33 281.08 (HRK 250 756.26).

 

Hrvatski poduzetnik optužen za subvencijsku prijevaru

Ured europskog javnog tužitelja (EPPO) u Zagrebu (Hrvatska) je danas, 24. svibnja 2023. godine, podigao optužnicu protiv jednog hrvatskog državljanina. Okrivljenik je vlasnik obrta i optužen je zbog subvencijske prijevare i krivotvorenja isprave.

Okrivljenik se tereti da je u razdoblju od ožujka 2015. do studenog 2021. neosnovano pribavio bespovratna sredstva u velikim iznosima  za poljoprivredne projekte, koji se sufinanciraju sredstvima Europskog poljoprivrednog fonda za ruralni razvoj (EPFRR) i iz Državnog proračuna Republike Hrvatske.

Kako je pokazala istraga, okrivljenik je u prijavama podnesenim Agenciji za plaćanja u poljoprivredi, ribarstvu i ruralnom razvoju lažno prikazao da raspolaže novčanim sredstvima potrebnim za provedbu prijavljenih projekata, da je izvršio plaćanja prema dobavljačima, iako prikazana plaćanja nikada nisu izvršena te da nema dugovanja prema Državnom proračunu Republike Hrvatske.

Okrivljenik je podnio ukupno tri zahtjeva za odobrenje i isplatu bespovratne potpore projektima njegovog obrta. Temeljem jednog od tih zahtjeva, Agencija za plaćanja u poljoprivredi, ribarstvu i ruralnom razvoju isplatila je iznos od 221.873,84 eura (1.671.708,46 kuna) na račun njegovog obrta. Po preostala dva podnijeta zahtjeva do isplate nije došlo iz razloga što je Agencija za plaćanja u poljoprivredi, ribarstvu i ruralnom razvoju u međuvremenu otkrila da okrivljenik ima dug po osnovi javnih davanja Državnom proračunu Republike Hrvatske.

Šteta za Europski poljoprivredni fond za ruralni razvoj iznosi 188.592,76 eura (1.420.952,20 kuna), a šteta za Državni proračun Republike Hrvatske iznosi 33.281,08 eura (250 756,26 kuna).