The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Romania has conducted two searches and seized €500,000 in assets from a public official, as part of an ongoing investigation into a €850,000 fraud involving an irrigation systems project, funded by the EU.

The investigation revealed that an agricultural cooperative fraudulently obtained €850,000 in EU funds for an irrigation systems project

Two individuals, the ‘de facto’ president and the statutory president of the cooperative, are suspected of submitting falsified documents to Romania’s Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR), falsely claiming that the cooperative had a board of directors and had held a general assembly to approve the funding request, according to the EPPO.

The EPPO said that the public procurement process was allegedly manipulated to benefit a company linked to one of the suspects, officially administered by his wife.

Recent findings in the investigation suggest that the main suspect acted with the support of a public official holding a management position at a regional office of the AFIR.

Between 2018 and 2023, the official is believed to have facilitated the illegal acquisition and retention of EU funds for the irrigation systems project by approving fraudulent financing and payment requests, releasing payments to entities controlled by the main suspect, and by disclosing confidential information.

In return, the public official is suspected of having received material benefits, according to the EPPO.

The EPPO said that the official faces charges of bribery, money laundering and complicity in subsidy fraud involving EU financial interests, and was placed under judicial control for sixty days, with interdiction to contact other parties, as well as mandatory periodical presentation in the police station of their place of residence. 

It also highlighted that all persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Romanian courts of law.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (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.