In response, EPPO has frozen EUR 600 million in assets. For example, expensive watches and cars, including Porsches, have been seized. This can be seen in photos that the organization has shared.
The 22 arrested people are said to be members of a criminal organization that unlawfully used European corona support between 2021 and 2023.
The suspects would in any case have claimed subsidies for digitalization and innovation of small and medium-sized companies. They allegedly used fake balance sheets in their subsidy applications to prove that they represented profit-making companies. In fact the companies did not exist.
‘Advanced technology’
To conceal the fraud, the suspects used ‘advanced technologies’, including VPNs and cryptocurrencies, EPPO reports.
Eight people are in pre-trial detention, the other fourteen have been placed under house arrest.
2024-04-04 17:07:43
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