Italy: €114 000 in RRF funds seized in fraud investigation involving wholesale company

(Luxembourg: At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Giulianova (Teramo) have executed a freezing order amounting to €114 000 against one company, active in the non-specialised wholesale trade of food and tobacco. It is suspected of fraud involving funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

It is alleged that the owner of the company falsified the company’s financial statements, indicating higher revenues than the actual ones, to be eligible for obtaining RRF funds for the development of an e-commerce platform. He then submitted the request to SIMEST, Italy’s financial institution for the development and promotion of the activities of Italian companies, and responsible for managing and distributing RRF funds in these projects, which granted the company €228 000 in total.

Thanks to a swift investigation, the second payment of €114 000 was never disbursed as the irregularities were detected and reported by Guardia di Finanza. Bank accounts worth €114 000 were frozen.

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.