A major operation by the Guardia di Finanza Caserta has uncovered a vast fraudulent scheme aimed at the undue collection of community contributions intended for agriculture.
By order of the GIP of Salerno, the financiers of the Mondragone Company executed 12 personal precautionary measures and ordered the seizure of assets for over 9,5 million euros. The investigation, coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) of Naples, involved a total of 67 individuals and 27 companies.
At the center of the investigations, a criminal association that, between 2018 and 2022, allegedly requested and obtained over 12,5 million euros in funding. The fraudulent mechanism was based on the use of a company that was illegitimately declared as a "Producer Organization" (PO), in order to access the European funds reserved for them.
The complex investigation activities revealed how the suspects would have falsified the accounting and non-accounting documentation to fraudulently simulate the compliance of this company with the essential requirements of POs provided for by Community legislation.
In essence, the company, despite not carrying out the essential functions of a Producers' Organization towards its members, allegedly deceived the Campania Region, the Agency for Agricultural Payments (AGEA) and the European Union, unduly receiving the entire amount of Community aid financed under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The unlawful conduct that emerged constitutes the crimes of aggravated fraud for the purpose of obtaining public funds and criminal association. For this reason, the military personnel of the Mondragone Company have placed 12 individuals under house arrest and have seized money and other assets held by the suspects and the companies involved, up to the considerable sum of 9.660.813,89 euros.
The Guardia di Finanza operation, conducted under the aegis of the EPPO, underlines the joint commitment of national and European authorities to combat fraud against the European Union budget and to protect the correct allocation of public funds.
Article published on May 26, 2025 - 19:40 pm
