EUROPEAN PUBLIC PROSECUTOR's OFFICE,ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΥΝΗ

 

23/01/2026   European Public Prosecutor's Office News

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Italy: VAT fraud probe results in four convictions and seven plea deals, including four public officials (Luxembourg, 23 January 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Naples (Italy) has secured convictions against four defendants and plea agreements with another seven suspects, including four public officials, over their participation in a criminal organisation that sold electronics at low prices by systematically evading VAT. The investigation, carried out with the support of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Naples, unveiled a criminal association aimed at committing carousel VAT fraud – a complex criminal scheme that takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, as these are exempt from value added tax. On 8 January 2026, the Court of Naples convicted four defendants – an accountant and three entrepreneurs – and sentenced them to prison terms of six to ten years, ordering the confiscation of approximately €3 million seized earlier in the investigation to recover the evaded taxes. A member of the Financial Police was acquitted. In addition, seven more suspects pleaded guilty and signed plea bargain agreements, which were approved by the judge and have become final. Among those who entered plea agreements are three members of the Italian Financial Police, who agreed to a punishment between four and a half years and two years’ imprisonment; and a manager of Italy’s Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate – Riscossione), who agreed to four years’ imprisonment. They were accused of accepting bribes in order to slow down criminal proceedings and tax audits, avoid the enforced payment of tax debts and illegally obtain information from police and judicial databases. An accountant and a personal aide, who carried out tasks for the group, have also pleaded guilty and accepted a punishment between four years and five years and four months in prison. Finally, a middleman in the criminal scheme has agreed to a punishment of two years’ imprisonment. The Italian Financial Police worked closely with the EPPO in this investigation, leading to the officials’ arrests and diligently tackling the suspected criminal activity within their ranks. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until a final decision proving them guilty in the competent Italian courts of law. 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.   more

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Italy: Assets seized in investigation into suspected subsidy fraud in Sardinia (Luxembourg, 22 January 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Tempio Pausania ordered the seizure of €94 000 in an investigation into suspected fraud affecting EU and national funds. The investigation concerns two individuals suspected of fraudulently obtaining public financing for a business project in La Maddalena (Sardinia) that was never effectively implemented. The funding, amounting to approximately €170 000, included EU grants and financing guaranteed by national support instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises, both amounting to 50% of the overall funding, and was intended for the construction of a kiosk on Cardellino beach. According to the investigation, the suspects, acting as legal representative and de facto administrator of the beneficiary company, allegedly used a fictitious registration in the name of a third party to circumvent an incompatibility and retain control over the company. It is further suspected that false or misleading documentation, including fabricated tax documents and a counterfeit surety bond, was submitted to obtain and retain the public funds. To secure the potential recovery of the damage, the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) seized assets corresponding to the suspected proceeds of the offence, including funds held in bank accounts, company shares, vehicles, and a share of ownership in a residential property. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law. 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.   more

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Croatia: Five arrested on suspicion of subsidy fraud and document forgery (Luxembourg, 22 January 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) has opened an investigation against five individuals and three legal entities for suspected subsidy fraud and document forgery in connection with two projects financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). The five suspects were arrested yesterday at the EPPO’s request, following investigative actions carried out by the Dubrovačko-neretvanska Police Department. According to the investigation, between 2019 and 2024, the founder and actual manager of a company agreed with a member of the management board of another company to submit an application for the project "Adaptation and commercialisation of the city management application My Dubrovnik", as part of a call of the Ministry of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, co-financed with a share of 85% from the ERDF. In the submitted application, contrary to the terms of the call, they are believed to have provided false facts to the Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO), which had a direct impact on the positive assessment of the project. Allegedly, they falsely stated that the city management application was developed and tested, and that one of the companies had provided a project team with appropriate experience in project implementation. In addition, it is believed that they attached four forged letters of intent to the application. The evidence revealed that by doing so, they falsely showed that they met the technical eligibility requirements of the call. As a consequence, the suspected company was awarded €185 543.73 in grants, which accounted for 85% of the project costs, while the beneficiary had to provide the remaining 15%. When it comes to the project financed by the ESF, there is a reasonable suspicion that the suspected association, represented by the first suspect, was unlawfully awarded grants in the total amount of €132 298.09 from the ESF in a share of 85% and from the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia in a share of 15%, of which, after administrative financial correction, a total of €108 647.52 was paid. The grants were for the implementation of the "Liquid Democracy" project, including the employment of full-time project staff.   more   Hrvatska: Petero uhićenih zbog sumnje na na subvencijske prijevare i krivotvorenje isprava (Luksemburg, 22. siječnja 2026.) – Ured europskog javnog tužitelja (EPPO) u Zagrebu (Hrvatska) donio je rješenje o provođenju istrage protiv pet fizičkih i tri pravne osobe zbog sumnje na počinjenje subvencijskih prijevara i krivotvorenje isprava u svezi dva projekta financirana iz Europskog fonda za regionalni razvoj (ERDF i Europskog socijalnog fonda (ESF). Postoji osnovana sumnja da je, u vremenu od 2019. do 2024. godine, osnivačica i stvarna voditeljica poslovanja jedne tvrtke dogovorila s članom Uprave druge tvrtke podnošenje prijave za projekt „Prilagodba i komercijalizacija inovativne upravljačke simulacije My Dubrovnik“, u sklopu poziva Ministarstva gospodarstva, poduzetništva i obrta, sufinanciranog s udjelom od 85% iz ERDF-a. U podnesenoj prijavi, suprotno uvjetima poziva, Hrvatskoj agenciji za malo gospodarstvo, inovacije i investicije (HAMAG-BICRO) naveli su neistinite činjenice, što je izravno utjecalo na pozitivnu ocjenu projekta. Tako postoji sumja da su lažno naveli da je upravljačka simulacija My Dubrovnik razvijena i testirana te da je jedna od tvrtki osigurala projektni tim s odgovarajućim iskustvom u provedbi projekta. Osim toga, postoji sumnja da su uz prijavu priložili četiri krivotvorena pisma namjere. Na opisani su način lažno prikazali da ispunjavaju tehničke uvjete prihvatljivosti poziva, slijedom čega je osumnjičenoj tvrtki dodijeljeno je 185.543,73 eura bespovratnih sredstava, što je činilo 85% troškova projekta, dok je korisnik morao osigurati preostalih 15%. Vezano uz drugi projekt, financiran iz ESF-a, postoji osnovana sumnja da je osumnjičenoj udruzi, koju zastupa prvoosumnjičenica, nezakonito dodijeljeno bespovratno financiranje u ukupnom iznosu od 132.298,09 eura iz ESF-a u udjelu od 85% i iz Državnog proračuna Republike Hrvatske u udjelu od 15%, od čega je, nakon administrativne financijske korekcije, isplaćeno ukupno 108.647,52 eura. Bespovratna sredstva bila su namijenjena provedbi projekta „Liquid Democracy“, namjenjena za zapošljavanje projektnog osoblja u punom radnom vremenu.   Više