EPPO sends two people to court for an alleged fraud of 240,000 euros from Erasmus+ funds.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has sent to trial in Paris two individuals residing in Germany and Switzerland, in a case concerning 240,000 euros granted to a French association for a children's literacy project. Prosecutors claim that the organization lacked the necessary capacity for implementation, that falsified documents were submitted, and that part of the money was diverted and subsequently laundered.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office, EPPO, has sent to trial at the Correctional Court in Paris two individuals residing in Germany and Switzerland, in an investigation regarding an alleged fraud of 240,000 euros from Erasmus+ funds. The money was granted between 2016 and 2019 to a French association led by the two suspects for an educational project dedicated to children's literacy.

In brief

EPPO has sent to trial two individuals residing in Germany and Switzerland in a case concerning 240,000 euros from Erasmus+ funds.

The funding was granted to a French association for a project dedicated to children's literacy, carried out between 2016 and 2019.

Prosecutors suspect that the association did not have the necessary operational capacity to implement the project according to the funding conditions.

One of the defendants is accused of submitting falsified supporting documents to the French Erasmus+ agency, and part of the European funds is alleged to have been diverted and subsequently laundered.

If found guilty, the two face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 750,000 euros. They benefit from the presumption of innocence.

The case concerns a funding of 240,000 euros granted through the Erasmus+ program to a non-profit French organization for a project focused on teaching children to read. The association was led by the two individuals now sent to trial, and the funding was granted by the French Erasmus+ agency for the period 2016–2019.

According to the EPPO investigation, the issue does not concern the existence of the Erasmus+ program or the educational objective of the project, but rather how the organization obtained and used the funding. Prosecutors claim that the association did not have the necessary operational capacity to implement the project under the established conditions.

One of the two suspects is accused of having submitted falsified supporting documents to the French Erasmus+ agency. EPPO does not specify in the published information what type of documents are targeted or how many such documents were used.

The investigation, conducted with the support of the National Anti-Fraud Office in France, ONAF, also established that the educational activities funded were not implemented according to the obligations assumed through the funding. Prosecutors say that the evidence collected indicates the diversion of part of the European funds.

EPPO also states that one of the defendants allegedly laundered part of the diverted funds afterward. The published information does not indicate the exact amount that was diverted or laundered and does not describe the mechanism by which the money would have been transferred or used afterward.

The 240,000 euros represent the total value of the Erasmus+ funding that is the subject of the case, not an amount that EPPO automatically presents as definitive damage. Establishing the concrete damage and criminal liability will fall to the French court.

The referral to trial marks the transition of the case from the investigation phase to the trial of the charges before the Correctional Court in Paris. EPPO has not published the date of the next hearing or the identity of the two individuals.

If found guilty, the defendants face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 750,000 euros. These represent the maximum possible penalties for the charges brought, not penalties already established.

The individuals sent to trial benefit from the presumption of innocence until a ruling is made by the competent French courts.

EPPO investigates and prosecutes crimes that affect the financial interests of the European Union, including fraud related to subsidies and European programs. In this case, the investigation is coordinated by the EPPO office in Paris and has benefited from the support of ONAF.

The case concerns an Erasmus+ project with an educational objective, but the charges focus on the actual capacity for implementation, the supporting documents used, and how part of the funding may have been utilized.

The case is now before the court, and the charges brought by EPPO must be proven in court.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/eppo-trimite-in-judecata-doua-persoane-pentru-o-presupusa-frauda-de-240000-de-euro-din-fonduri-erasmus