NRRP fraud probe: European Public Prosecutor’s Office seizes assets in Campania

Brussels – Searches and seizures of assets in connection with an alleged fraud involving funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Naples, the Italian tax police (Guardia di Finanza) conducted searches and seized assets at the homes of five suspects in Naples, Caserta, and the surrounding province, as part of an investigation into possible fraud involving RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) funds intended for small and medium-sized enterprises. The EPPO released the news yesterday (8 June), but the events took place last week. Assets to the value of 305,500 euros were ordered to be seized by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, including cars, real estate, and funds held in the suspects’ bank accounts.

According to the investigation’s findings, a company based in Naples is alleged to have obtained a non-repayable loan of 300,000 euros from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility for Italy, intended to support the digital and green transition of small and medium-sized enterprises. The company is believed to have submitted false financial statements and provided false information to obtain support. The public funds were then allegedly used for purposes other than those for which they were granted.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (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. The Naples case fits into a broader pattern of EPPO investigations in Italy. On 5 June, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office coordinated two separate operations, one in Palermo, where 175,000 euros in assets were seized in connection with a fraud involving EU funds for public veterinary healthcare, and one in Prato, where the Guardia di Finanza seized over 6 million euros in connection with a VAT carousel fraud involving luxury vehicles.