A man in France has been banned from farming after he was convicted of subsidy fraud involving Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments where he was found to have inflated cattle numbers to obtain coupled payments to the tune of €120,025.
Following an indictment by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Paris, the defendant was found to have falsely declared in his applications for CAP payments that he was carrying out agricultural activities, enabling him to receive such payments between 21 November 2017 and 31 December 2022.
However, he was in prison at the time in connection with other criminal proceedings relating to organised crime and therefore unable to perform any agricultural activity personally, the EPPO found.
In addition, he also declared an inflated number of cattle to obtain coupled CAP aid, resulting in what the EPPO described as "damage of €120,025 to the EU budget".
Prison time
The Paris judicial tribunal convicted the defendant to one year in prison and ordered him to pay a €10,000 fine. He will also have to pay damages of over €110,000 to France’s agency for services and payments in Corsica, the agency responsible for managing the funds.
The court also ordered the confiscation of assets previously seized during the investigation, led by the EPPO, including bank accounts containing €63,000.
The defendant was banned from standing for election for five years and permanently prohibited from engaging in farming activities.
He has 10 days in which to lodge an appeal against the court’s decision.
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.
SHARING OPTIONS