July 23, 2024

Pig farm project in Romania linked to individuals accused of fraud, forgery

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Timișoara, Romania, has accused five individuals of aggravated subsidy fraud, forgery of private documents and intellectual forgery, all these linked to a pig farm that was to be set up in Romania.

At issue is a project to establish the pig-breeding farm in the town of Corabia, Olt County, financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). According to the investigation, the beneficiary of the funds, with the support of the equipment supplier and the project consultant, submitted false documents for goods that were bought at a lower price and were of another nature or quantity than those requested from the EAFRD, thus unduly obtaining funds from the EU budget of €667,000.

It is also understood that two employees of Romania's Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR), in the exercise of their duties, falsely mentioned that they had conducted accurate on-the-spot checks of the equipment that had been requested by the beneficiary.

As a result of the EPPO's proactive measures, an additional amount of approximately €500,000 (US$544,586) was prevented from being illegally obtained from the EU budget.

- EPPO