Fraud to EU budget and structural funds, five people arrested in Italy

Brussels – Fraud against the European Union budget, for misuse of more than half a million euros in structural funds. In Italy, a criminal conspiracy involving European and national law enforcement agencies has been intercepted. At the request of the Palermo office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the Guardia di Finanza in Sant’Agata di Militello, Messina, triggered an operation that led to the freezing of €800,000, the seizure of real estate, and the closure of bank accounts. Five people and a society are suspected of committing fraud in EU funding related to the ceramic production sector.

The European Prosecutor Office reports that, according to the evidence acquired, the suspects successfully claimed structural funds for approximately €560,000, mainly from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) between 2018 and 2021, falsely declaring costs for the purchase of ceramic production machinery. The same suspects were allegedly using a system of over-invoicing and false transactions to falsify costs, significantly inflating them, and to obtain tax benefits on transactions that never took place.

The operation once again puts the spotlight on Italy and the criminal networks that are active in intercepting European funds. The same European prosecutor’s office has already uncovered a €600 million fraud to the detriment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), funded by the Recovery Fund.