CAP scam in Benevento: farmer collects funds on land without rights

The Guardia di Finanza's Financial Police (Fiamme Gialle) unit in Benevento have uncovered a case of misappropriation of European funds linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). During an administrative inspection coordinated with AGEA (Agency for Agricultural Payments), members of the Economic and Financial Police Unit discovered serious administrative irregularities affecting a farmer in Benevento.

The non-existent property title

The farmer, owner of a livestock farm specializing in cattle and buffalo breeding and producing raw milk, had included a plot of land in his CAP grant application documents. However, the military determined that the land tenure was completely invalid: the transferor of the land had no ownership rights over the agricultural land. This administrative violation compromised all the documentation submitted to the EU administration.

Double falsification of documents

The fraud was revealed to be even more complex during the investigations. The land had been improperly included in both the single payment requests and the annual summary report of cumulative rural land rental agreements. This double reporting demonstrates the intent to consolidate the misappropriation of public funds through official documentation.

Recovery of funds

The competent authorities have already initiated proceedings to recover the unlawfully received funds. The report has been forwarded to the appropriate authorities, initiating the process of reimbursing the European contributions to the EU budget. This operation is part of a broader collaboration plan between the Guardia di Finanza and AGEA to prevent and combat practices detrimental to public economic and financial interests in the agricultural sector.