EPPO indicts individuals for EU fund fraud in Croatia

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Zagreb has filed indictments against four individuals and two companies for subsidy fraud involving EU funds. The case concerns the construction of a briquette production plant co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds and the REACT-EU instrument under the Next Generation EU plan.

According to the investigation, the director and the actual manager of the beneficiary company conspired with two other defendants to purchase used machinery from a Serbian company for 398,866 euros. These used machines were then falsely presented as new equipment and sold to the beneficiary company for 935,297.63 euros.

Following this transaction, the defendants applied for 420,883.93 euros in non-refundable grants from the Croatian agency HAMAG-BICRO. The agency paid out 285,904.84 euros before irregularities were detected and further payments were halted. The EPPO reports that the EU budget was damaged by the 285,904.84 euros paid out, while the intermediary companies gained an illicit profit of 536,431.63 euros through the price markup. If convicted, the defendants face prison sentences ranging from one to ten years.