Charges filed by European prosecutors on suspected CAP-related fraud in Croatia
An investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb, Croatia, has led to an indictment against two Croatian citizens on "suspicion of fraud involving agricultural subsidies".
According to the EPPO, an investigation, which took place last year, showed that between October 2021 and October 2022, one of the defendants - the manager of one company, and owner and manager of another - together with the second defendant, the appointed commercial manager of the first company, "fraudulently claimed non-refundable subsidies co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to up to 85%".
The EPPO said that as a result of the investigation it is "understood" that the defendants agreed for the appointed commercial manager of the first company to assume the role of the company’s founder, holding power of attorney over the company’s affairs.
"By doing so, they concealed the connection between this company and another company managed by the first defendant.
"Under the rules, related companies were not allowed to submit applications to the same public call," the prosecutor’s office outlined.
European prosecutors detailed that the maximum amount of public support available in total was also set at up to €500 000.
However, the defendants first submitted, on behalf of one of the companies and as part of the public call, a request to the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development for almost half a million euros (€497 976).
At the same time, the first defendant submitted a request to the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development on behalf of the other company, for approximately €440 000, under the same public call.
Prosecutors said that both the accused knew that this "violated the regulations", as the two companies were related.
It has also been alleged that the two Croatian defendants provided false information, in order to gain an unfair advantage during the evaluation of the tender procedure.
However the Croatian Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (PAAFRD) "detected elements of fraud during the administrative procedure" and decided not to pay out the non-refundable subsidies, amounting to €940 000.
The EPPO, which is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union, has stressed that "all persons are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Croatian courts of law".
