Police in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia detained 22 people this Thursday as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of 600 million euros in post-pandemic aid funds from the European Union (EU).
The amount was part of Italy’s Covid-19 pandemic funds, the European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said.
European prosecutors suspect that the criminal organization misappropriated non-refundable funds from Italy’s National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) between 2021 and 2023.
According to investigators, the fraud was committed by a “criminal group” with the help of several dummies and four businessmen.
The Italian program is funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, a multibillion-dollar plan that was designed to help European bloc countries breathe new life into their economies devastated by the new coronavirus.
Italy’s national recovery and resilience plan is the bloc’s largest, costing €194.4 billion in grants and loans, representing 10.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, according to the EU.
The EPPO reported that Italian tax police had implemented an order by an investigating judge to freeze assets worth more than €600 million.
“With the support of law enforcement authorities from other Member States involved, 22 people were arrested in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia,” the European Prosecutor’s Office said.
A total of eight people were placed in custody, 14 were placed under house arrest, and two were banned from engaging in commercial activities.
All of them had assets worth 600 million euros confiscated, including homes, “significant amounts” of cryptocurrency, expensive watches, jewelry, gold and luxury cars.
In the first phase, the plan will include several projects worth “tens of millions” of euros, financed by the PNRR in the sectors of digitalization of the production system, provided by the company SIMEST, owned by the state bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. and which helps Italian companies to reach an international level.
SIMEST, according to a statement from the tax police, assisted financial authorities during investigations.
An investigation later revealed that the same organization, often through the same companies, created non-existent loans for the construction sector, attracting subsidies for façade renovations and supporting the capitalization of companies amounting to approximately 600 million euros.
Authorities discovered a money laundering scheme through a “complex and extensive” network of shell companies in Austria, Slovakia and Romania.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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