A public official from Romania’s Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture (APIA) is facing criminal charges for allegedly using his position to convince farmers to enter a subsidy fraud scheme, while retaining 92% of the funds.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bucharest has filed an indictment against the official.

Another individual has also been charged with helping to persuade the farmers and orchestrate the scheme.

Fraud

According to the EPPO, the public official, employed as a senior advisor within one of APIA’s agencies in Giurgiu county, had access to the institution's database.

He identified several plots of land that were eligible for obtaining agricultural subsidies from APIA, as there had been no applications submitted for the year 2022.

The official, together with another individual, allegedly persuaded two farmers from Giurgiu county to obtain financing in their names, taking advantage of the farmers’ precarious financial situation and their low level of education.

The EPPO said that the two farmers received approximately €980 each (RON 5,000) in return, while the defendants kept the remaining 92% of the total subsidies, which amounted to around €24,000 (RON 122,452).

It is understood that the defendants submitted the applications on behalf of the two farmers.

The public official also took the necessary procedural steps to manage the two applications, so as not to encounter difficulties in their approval and payment.

To certify that the plots were owned by the two farmers, the defendants allegedly used false documents, purportedly issued by a commune hall, attesting that the farmers were listed in the agricultural register with large land areas.

If found guilty, the defendants face prison sentences of up to seven years.

Plea agreements were reached with the two farmers, who cooperated and admitted their guilt.

They have agreed to the minimum penalty, one year and four months’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of two years.

The EPPO, which is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union, noted that all persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the Romanian courts of law.