The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), through its Cluj-Napoca branch, has sent a company and its administrator to trial before the Iasi Court of Justice on charges of fraud involving an EU-funded research and innovation project intended to boost competitiveness and economic recovery, according to Act Media.
According to a statement published on the EPPO website, investigators found that the company, represented by its administrator, secured EU funding for a project dedicated to developing advanced inorganic materials (AIMs) – high-performance materials made from inorganic substances such as ceramics or metals, used in sectors including electronics, energy and industrial technologies.
The project, worth around 2,2 million (RON 10.4 million), was funded through the EU’s Operational Programme Competitiveness (OPC) 2014 – 2020 and managed by Romania’s Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Transformation.
Prosecutors say that between 2018 and 2024, the defendants submitted false and misleading documents during the project’s implementation. Instead of pursuing the programme’s goals – strengthening research capacity, innovation and economic resilience – they allegedly attempted to unlawfully obtain substantial EU funds. This included simulating the purchase of a software licence using fabricated documentation to create the appearance of a legitimate transaction with a real supplier.
Evidence indicates that the fraudulent scheme was planned from the early stages of the project. Investigators found that the defendants used falsified offers from companies purportedly based in Canada to justify inflated budget estimates. Through these actions, they sought to obtain approximately ?780,000 illicitly, causing confirmed financial damage of about ?114,000 (RON 570,894).
The damage was repaid in December 2022.
The suspected fraud was reported to the EPPO by Romania’s Ministry of European Investments and Projects. Mutual legal assistance was also requested from the Canadian Ministry of Justice.
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