In the context of an international
large-scale investigation led by the European Public
Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Venice (Italy), dozens of searches
and seizures were conducted, and 22 arrests were made today in
Italy, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia, in a probe into an
alleged criminal organisation suspected of defrauding €600
million from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for
Italy, according to the EPPO.
22 people have been arrested in Italy, Austria, Romania, and
Slovakia thanks to the assistance of law enforcement agencies
from other Member States, the Office stated.
The criminal organisation is suspected of orchestrating a
fraud scheme between 2021 and 2023 to obtain funds from the
Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which is
part of the RRF, the main pillar of the NextGenerationEU
recovery plan. It is alleged that a network of accountants,
service providers, and public notaries assisted the suspects in
obtaining €600 million in non-refundable funds from the Italian
NRRP over a two-year period.
The suspects transferred the funds to their bank accounts in
Austria, Romania and Slovakia as soon as they received the
advance payments, EPPO said today.
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