Four suspects, including three public officials, were indicted before the Timiș Tribunal Court in Romania for a criminal scheme through which €2.2 million in EU funds for pastures was fraudulently secured.

It followed an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

One of the accused is a sheep breeder who owns a large estate in Romania.

According to the investigation, he set up a criminal scheme to obtain EU subsidies for pastures that were ineligible for funds, using public officials from Romania’s paying agency to facilitate the process.

Between 2018 and 2023, the sheep breeder allegedly used employees to identify and lease pastures which he did not own, registering them under his parents’ names and a company he controlled, in order to fraudulently obtain EU funds.

Public officials from Romania’s Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture (APIA) – Hunedoara County Centre are also accused of colluding in the scheme.

According to the investigation, the sheep breeder submitted subsidy requests for land he did not own, overstated the size of eligible areas, and included ineligible forested land, with the support of APIA officials.

In this manner, he obtained approximately €2.2 million in agricultural EU funds. An additional request for approximately €1.59 million was submitted to the APIA, but the funds were not disbursed, thanks to the timely investigation of the EPPO.

If found guilty of the charges, the defendants may face between three to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Prior to these indictments, five additional suspects had already entered plea agreements that were submitted to the court, including two public officials.

All pleaded guilty to the charges. In order to compensate the damage to the EU budget, 86 plots of land owned by the main sheep breeder were seized, worth an estimated €170,000.

The EPPO has admitted that all persons involved are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Romanian courts of law.

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.