In Italy, police arrested 22 people and confiscated 600 million euros from an EU recovery program. Eight suspects are in custody.
The Italian financial police and the authorities in Austria, Romania and Slovakia have arrested 22 people and confiscated around 600 million euros for suspected fraud with EU funds. The suspects are said to have applied for funds from the EU-financed “Next Generation EU” development program through a network of fictitious companies and then embezzled them, as the police said.
Specifically, the alleged criminal organization was after funds from the Italian National Economic Recovery Program (in Italian “Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza”, or PNRR for short). The suspects applied for large sums of money for various project initiatives using fictitious companies and with the involvement of front people, the police said in a statement. They are also accused of laundering huge illegal profits.
The majority of the suspects have a criminal record
The financial police in Venice played a leading role in the measures – they reportedly acted at a request from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and executed a court order to freeze assets worth more than 600 million euros.
According to police, eight suspects are in custody and the other 14 people are under house arrest. Two other suspects were therefore banned from working and trading. The majority of the suspects have a criminal record.
The “Next Generation EU” development program, worth more than 800 billion euros, is intended to help EU states get back on their feet after the corona pandemic. As a particularly hard-hit country, Italy is expected to receive the largest sum from the pot at almost 200 billion euros. According to calculations by the EU Commission, Germany will be able to access 28 billion euros. In order to receive the aid, member states must submit a plan with concrete investment and reform projects.
Source: Stern
