Authorities in Italy, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia have made a major breakthrough in uncovering a massive fraud scheme involving the siphoning of hundreds of millions of euros in post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union. A total of 22 individuals were arrested in a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies across these countries.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the criminal organization behind the scheme had diverted 600 million euros ($650 million) from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which is part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. This plan was designed to help EU countries recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.
Luxury assets such as flats, villas, cryptocurrency, watches, jewelry, gold, and cars were seized by financial police in Venice as part of the operation. The suspects are accused of using false corporate balance sheets to fraudulently obtain non-repayable grants meant for small and medium-sized companies looking to expand internationally.
The EPPO stated that the suspects had a sophisticated operation involving the use of advanced technologies like VPNs, cloud servers, crypto-assets, and artificial intelligence software to cover their tracks. Eight individuals have been placed under pre-trial detention, while 14 others are under house arrest. Additionally, one accountant has been prohibited from practicing his profession.
This case highlights the importance of vigilance in monitoring the distribution of funds meant for economic recovery and the need for strong enforcement measures to combat fraud and corruption.