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Seven home searches were carried out, at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), in several locations, as part of an investigation into a fraud of two million euros involving IT projects, according to a press release sent by the institution.
The source mentions that two people were detained, including the main suspect, and four others were placed under judicial control. Searches were carried out in several locations in Romania, including the city of Bucharest and the counties of Iasi, Vaslui and Ilfov. Investigative measures were also carried out in Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania and Spain, as well as in the Republic of Moldova.
The investigation concerns a company that requested non-refundable EU funds in the amount of up to two million euros (10,953,924 RON), for an IT project for the development of innovative software solutions (PIST - Innovative platform for fast and secure financial transactions).
According to the data from the investigation, in the period 2020 - 2022, the beneficiary of the project submitted false or inaccurate documents for services and goods that were never delivered or purchased, as well as employment contracts with people who were not actually employed, thus obtaining improper funds from to the EU budget of one million euros.
These funds, paid by the Romanian Ministry of Investments and European Projects, were subjected to money laundering through domestic and international financial circuits, using "ghost" companies registered in Spain and Bulgaria and bank accounts in Belgium and Lithuania. According to the evidence, the shares of companies registered in Romania suspected of criminal activities were transferred to Moldovan citizens and to Italian citizens, in order to prevent possible investigations.
Some of the investigated persons were brought to the EPPO office in Iasi to be informed about their status as suspects, and others will be brought in the coming days.
In order to recover the damage caused to the EU budget, the EPPO seized two apartments, with a total value of approximately 250,000 euros, plots of land and froze the bank accounts of the suspects and their companies.
