Fake contracts, real millions stolen: EPPO indicts fraud ring in Romania

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has referred a major criminal case to the Bucharest Tribunal, charging three individuals – including one alleged ringleader, with defrauding the European Union and Romanian state of over €100 million.

The indictment comes at a sensitive moment for the EU’s top prosecutor, the Romanian Laura Codruța Kövesi, who enters the final year of her seven-year mandate.

The case, steered by EPPO’s Bucharest branch with the support of Romanian authorities and the EU’s anti-fraud office OLAF, concerns fraudulent access to European funds earmarked for infrastructure projects. According to the indictment, an Italian-led criminal group participated in dozens of tenders related to water supply and sewage rehabilitation, using false financial data and fictitious contracts to secure public funding.

One of the suspects, an Italian citizen believed to be the leader of the group, was arrested at Bucharest’s airport on 4 February, as he attempted to flee the country. At EPPO’s request, he was placed in pre-trial detention by the Bucharest Tribunal. Two other individuals, also believed to be part of the criminal organisation, were placed under judiciary supervision.

According to EPPO’s findings, between 2019 and 2024 the criminal group operated in Romania through three Italian consortia that participated in 23 tenders, worth approximately €300 million in EU funding. These tenders were funded under the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (LIOP) 2014-2020 and the Sustainable Development Programme (SDP) 2021-2027. In total, the group is believed to have won 13 contracts, causing direct financial damage of over €100 million.

Investigators allege that the consortia submitted falsified documents to prove their financial capacity, including inflated balance sheets claiming annual turnovers above €50 million – figures later found to be exaggerated by a factor of 30. They also presented contracts for projects in Iraq that, according to evidence collected, were fabricated.

Further scrutiny revealed that two of the consortia had previously received anti-mafia exclusions from Italian authorities, prohibiting them from accessing public funds under Italy’s Anti-Mafia Code. Despite this, the consortia managed to operate in Romania by appearing as supporters or associates of local companies. According to the investigation, they never performed the actual construction work, which was executed entirely by the Romanian entities.

In light of the case, EPPO formally alerted Romania’s Ministry of Investment and European Projects to significant risks in the national system for managing EU funds. The office highlighted a pattern of false documentation submitted by foreign companies and recommended a tightening of verification procedures.

The fraud was initially detected by Romanian national authorities, who forwarded the case to EPPO after uncovering serious irregularities. The investigation was conducted jointly with the Romanian Police’s Special Operations Department and benefited from the coordination efforts of EPPO’s support structure in Bucharest.

Kövesi, a former star chief anti-corruption prosecutor in Romania, became the first person to lead the newly established EPPO in 2020.

Under her leadership, EPPO has investigated hundreds of cases of fraud against the EU budget, involving VAT carousel schemes, agricultural and infrastructure subsidies, and cross-border procurement fraud. Romania has consistently ranked among the countries with the highest number of EPPO-registered investigations, alongside Italy and Bulgaria.

With just months remaining before the end of her term in late 2026, observers say the outcome of this and other high-profile cases could define both the legacy of her mandate and the credibility of EPPO as a permanent institution in the European justice landscape.

According to EPPO’s 2024 operational data, Romania remains one of the most active participating member states in terms of EU fraud investigations, with 380 ongoing cases and an estimated €2.57 billion in total damages. The cases span across a broad range of EU-funded programmes, particularly in regional development and agriculture, with a high concentration of procurement-related expenditure fraud. Romanian authorities also froze assets worth over €45 million in cooperation with EPPO. The volume and scale of fraud cases reinforce concerns about systemic vulnerabilities in managing EU funds at the national level.

For a closer look at how EPPO’s work has been obstructed by political interference and legal immunity in Greece and Bulgaria, see our previous coverage: