Investigations into recovery plan fraud in Italy risk damaging Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and hampering Emmanuel Macron's plans for a second joint loan
Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen in Rome, January 29. - Sipa Press
Facts - First beneficiary of the European recovery plan with a quarter of the amount allocated, Italy represents three quarters of the suspected fraud investigated by the European prosecutor's office.
Organized crime networks in Italy are entering into Union politics. Last Thursday, the European prosecutor's office announced the arrest of 22 people and the seizure of villas, luxury cars, Rolex watches and other assets representing a total of 600 million euros in a case of alleged embezzlement of the European recovery plan (NextGenerationEU) in Italy. Twenty-four other suspects were placed under detention or house arrest. From 2021 to 2023, the members of this criminal organization would have “requested and obtained non-repayable subsidies supporting the digitalization, innovation and competitiveness of fictitious SMEs [thanks to] false accounting statements”, with the support “of a network of accountants, service providers and notaries public” as well as VPNs, cryptoassets and artificial intelligence software. As soon as it was paid, the money was transferred to accounts in Austria, Romania and Slovakia.
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source: Lopinion.fr
