CAP fund fraud: European Public Prosecutor’s Office dismantles criminal network in Sicily

Brussels – Fraud against European agricultural funds for over 1.4 million euros: In Sicily, the Palermo office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) dismantled a criminal organisation in an operation that led to the arrest of one of the suspects and the imposition of coercive measures on five other individuals. ​

Investigations have revealed that, between 2018 and 2022, the criminal group, active in several provinces of Sicily, established fictitious companies to fraudulently acquire Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payment entitlements from the National Reserve, worth over 360,000 euros, thereby misleading Italy’s Agency for Payments in Agriculture (AGEA), responsible for the management and payment of agricultural funds.

They are suspected of claiming ownership and possession of land they did not own, and of falsely claiming acquisition of land parcels through usucaption. Based on the evidence, the illegal profits were subsequently transferred to other companies, to conceal their illicit origin, or reinvested, including through participation in public auctions to purchase land.​

A total of 29 people have been placed under investigation and are subject to disciplinary action. One suspect has been placed under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. The Messina judge for preliminary investigations also ordered another suspect to stay in the municipality of residence and banned four others from holding management positions in companies or requesting EU subsidies or state contributions for one year. In addition to these six individuals, 23 other suspects are under investigation for fraud and money laundering. Furthermore, two agricultural plots in the province of Messina were seized, as were two apartments in the province of Catania and approximately 60,000 euros in CAP payment entitlements issued by AGEA. 

The raid by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office confirms once again the extent and depth of criminal infiltration into European agricultural funds. The EPPO itself has already dismantled a criminal network responsible for fraud worth 20 million euros and, more recently, another responsible for fraud amounting to approximately half a million euros.