EPPO Romania indicts three suspects allegedly linked to Italian mob in EUR 100 mln fraud case

Last week, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bucharest indicted three individuals for an EUR 100 million fraud in a case involving both EU and national funds.

Among those indicted is an Italian citizen, alleged to be the leader of the group, which operated between 2019 and 2024. The suspect was detained on February 5, 2025, and allegedly planned the participation in tenders organised by Romanian authorities through three Italian consortia, according to the official press release.

These tenders, related to the construction and rehabilitation of drinking water distribution and sewage systems, were pursued either as associates of Romanian companies or as third-party supporters. Two of the consortia used by the group previously received an anti-mafia prohibition from the Italian authorities, which excludes them from obtaining public contributions.

Through the Italian consortia, the defendants participated in 23 calls for tenders, worth EUR 300 million in EU funding, financed by the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (LIOP) 2014-2020 and Sustainable Development Programme (SDP) 2021-2027. They managed to win 13 tenders, as associates or supporters of Romanian companies, causing an estimated damage of more than EUR 100 million.

In order to prove their financial capacity and experience in similar projects, they allegedly provided false documents. They also presented contracts for the execution of works in Iraq which, based on the evidence, did not correspond to the truth.

The case was reported to the EPPO, the EU’s independent public prosecution office responsible for varying how EU funds are spent, by national authorities, after suspicions of possible serious irregularities and fraud. The EPPO recommended strengthening verification procedures to better protect the EU’s financial interests.

The 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.

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