The ongoing investigation in Croatia into corruption and fraud relating to agricultural funds has resulted in the arrest of 21 people, including current and former public officials.

The EPPO's office in Zagreb, the country's capital, has begun an investigation against 21 Croatian citizens who were arrested on Wednesday (May 6) in a probe into possible corruption and subsidy fraud.

The arrested individuals include one public official and one former public official.

The funds alleged to have been defrauded involve monies from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF).

These two funds provide the money for Pillar II and Pillar I, respectively, of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The arrests were made in the wake of 30 searches involving 150 police officers, as well as officials from the country's ministry of finance.

The current and former public officials that have been arrested are suspected of abuse of office and authority, and receiving bribes.

According to the investigation, from 2020 onwards, one of these officials formed a criminal association with two more suspects with the aim of enabling interested farmers to obtain undue funding from the EAFRD and the EAGF, in exchange for a financial reward.

It is alleged that the former official, together with two other members of the criminal organisation, inflated the land areas in the relevant register and falsified documents to attest that agricultural activities were carried out, including by preparing fraudulent invoices for the sale of manure and fraudulent laboratory soil analyses.

The EPPO claimed that, based on the evidence, the former public official and the two other suspects, together with the farmers under investigation, attempted to unlawfully obtain a total of €670,000 in EU funds, of which €357,000 was paid.

The members of the criminal group received a financial reward amounting to a total of at least €36,000, the EPPO alleged.

In addition, the other public official that was arrested is suspected of coordinating with at least another four farmers to provide assistance in the preparation and submission of applications for EU funding, in order to secure approval of funding under potentially "irregular circumstances", in exchange for illicit financial benefits.

According to the EPPO, the facts under investigation may constitute abuse of office and authority; receiving and offering bribes; subsidy fraud; and forgery of documents.

The EPPO stressed that all persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Croatian courts of law.