EU prosecutors arrest 21 Croatians over suspected farm aid fraud

[EPPO]

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has said it arrested 21 Croatians, including an acting and a erstwhile nationalist official, successful a probe into imaginable ‌corruption and fraud involving European Union workplace subsidies.

The caput and a erstwhile adept advisor of a outgo bureau of cultivation funds successful 1 of Croatia’s counties were among those arrested connected Wednesday successful coordination with section constabulary and Croatian tax ⁠administration authorities for suspected “abuse of bureau and authorization and receiving bribes”, the EPPO said successful a statement.

The EPPO, which began operations successful 2021, is the EU’s autarkic nationalist prosecution bureau tasked with investigating and bringing to judgement crimes against the bloc’s fiscal interests. It archetypal announced the probe into the Croatian matter connected Wednesday.

The acting nationalist authoritative under apprehension is suspected of coordinating with ‌farmers ⁠to assistance hole and submit applications and unafraid EU workplace subsidies under perchance irregular circumstances, successful speech for illicit fiscal benefits, the EPPO said.

It besides said a erstwhile adept was suspected of having ⁠set up a transgression pack with different two suspects to assistance farmers get workplace subsidies by inflating pastureland and falsifying documents successful instrumentality for ⁠a fiscal reward since 2020.

Neither Croatian state constabulary nor a authorities spokesperson successful Zagreb responded instantly to a petition for ⁠comment.

The arrests followed a ungraded successful Greece implicit suspected fraud likewise related to EU workplace subsidies that has successful caller months. [Reuters]