Assets worth over €250,000 have been seized in Italy as part of an EU agricultural funding fraud case.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo, Italy, a freezing order on assets was executed yesterday against four livestock farmers.

The farmers are suspected of fraud involving EU agricultural funds intended for grazing activities.

Fraud

According to investigators, the farmers said that they had carried out grazing activities on land outside their own properties, in their applications to the Italian Agricultural Payments Agency (AGEA).

The agency is responsible for managing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies.

However, it is claimed that the farmers did not activate the mandatory “grazing code”.

This is an official registration to authorise grazing activities on parcels of land outside a farmer’s main holding, which also triggers required veterinary inspections.

It is alleged that they did so in order to deliberately avoid veterinary controls on livestock movements, in breach of the conditions for receiving public subsidies.

Funds

The EPPO said the suspects are believed to have unduly obtained over €450,000 in EU agricultural funds.

At the request of the EPPO, the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Catania issued a freezing order for the sums unduly received.

The order was executed on Monday (January 12) by the Carabinieri Agri-food Protection Department of Messina.

Several properties, assets and payment entitlements from AGEA were seized, worth around €254,000.

The EPPO noted that all persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian 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.