(Luxembourg, 25 March 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bratislava (Slovakia) has pressed charges against six suspects and seized assets worth around €3 million, as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale fraud involving EU subsidies for specialised machinery. Two leaders of the suspected organised crime group have been arrested and placed in custody.
This latest development follows a previous action day carried out in November 2024, when the EPPO in Bratislava uncovered a scheme involving fraudulent EU subsidy claims worth €1.77 million. That investigation led to multiple arrests and asset seizures and to crucial evidence exposing an even larger fraudulent scheme to obtain EU funds.
The evidence now links six suspects to an organised crime group that fraudulently obtained EU funds for projects co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Operating through five Slovak companies and one Czech company, the suspects allegedly rigged public procurement processes to ensure that affiliated companies won contracts for the purchase of specialised machinery.
The fraudulent scheme involved inflating the prices of Chinese-made machinery by more than ten times and falsely declaring it as EU-made. The suspects then submitted falsified invoices and bank transfers to justify the overvalued costs. The Slovak Ministry of Economy, which administered the EU funds, paid 80% of the subsidies in pre-financing, totalling to €6.8 million. The remaining 20% was due upon project completion, and has not been disbursed.
Money laundering uncovered
Further investigation revealed that members of the organised crime group laundered the criminal proceeds by funnelling funds through affiliated companies using false invoices for fictitious transactions.
These funds were later transferred back to the ringleaders' personal accounts and reinvested into their own companies, which were then used to purchase high-end packaging machines for legitimate business operations. The objective was to disguise the proceeds of crime and mix them with legitimate income.
Last week (20 March), four residential and four non-residential premises were searched, leading to the arrest of the two suspected ringleaders. The pre-trial judge, ruling on the EPPO’s request, ordered their detention, citing a high risk of continued criminal activity and evidence tampering.
In total, the EPPO froze over €400 000 in bank accounts, seized €60 000 in cash and five houses and one apartment valued at €2.5 million.
EPPO offices in Brno, Prague, Milan and Munich supported the EPPO office in Bratislava, helping to uncover the money-laundering component of the scheme and establish links between the ringleaders and illicit financial transactions.
With these latest developments, the total amount of fraudulently obtained EU funds has risen to a minimum of €8.75 million. The investigation remains ongoing.
All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Slovak courts of law.
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.