The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has filed charges against two Croatian citizens suspected of having committed agricultural subsidy fraud.

The prosecutor’s claims are based off an investigation conducted between October 2021 and October 2022 into the two individuals’ applications for CAP Pillar 2 subsidies.

It is alleged that one of the defendants manages one company while owning and managing another company together with the second defendant (who was appointed as commercial manager of the first company) fraudulently claimed subsidies.

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The EPPO understands that the defendants agreed for the appointed commercial manager of the first company to assume the role of the company’s founder and hold power of attorney over the company’s affairs.

However, it is claimed that the connection between this company and the other company managed by the first defendant was “concealed”.

Under the subsidy scheme’s rules, related companies were not allowed to submit applications to the same call for applications.

The scheme provided supports of up to €500,000 and the charges relate to a claim for €497,976 through one of the companies and €440,000 for another.

The prosecutor said the two companies applied despite knowing that doing so would violate the regulations, as the two companies were related.

The prosecutor also alleged that the accused provided false information in order to gain an unfair advantage during the tendering process.

The agency responsible for paying out the funds claimed to have detected “elements of fraud” during the application process and did not pay out the approximately €940,000 in subsidies applied for.

The accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty under Croatian courts.

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.