Latest news with #EuropeanPublicProsecutor'sOffice
The Sun
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Croatia ex-health minister charged in $860k corruption case
ZAGREB: Croatia's anti-corruption prosecutors have formally charged former Health Minister Vili Beros and seven others with multiple offences including bribery, money laundering, and abuse of power. The case involves alleged irregularities in health equipment procurement worth over $860,000 (€740,000), with Beros suspected of personally receiving $87,000 (€75,000). Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic dismissed Beros following his arrest last November, underscoring ongoing corruption challenges in the Balkan nation. The indictment accuses the group of operating a criminal network engaged in unlawful favouritism and influence peddling. The European Public Prosecutor's Office initially investigated the eight suspects before Croatian authorities took over the case. Beros becomes the second minister arrested under Plenkovic's government after former construction minister Darko Horvat faced similar charges in 2022. Over a dozen ministers from Plenkovic's HDZ party have resigned since 2016 amid corruption allegations. The scandal has intensified public anger in Croatia, where healthcare system struggles persist. Plenkovic narrowly survived a December no-confidence vote linked to graft controversies. – AFP
Euractiv
09-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
Former Croatian minister charged for spending EU money on private dinners
A former Croatia minister of r egional development and EU funds , believed to be Gabrijela Žalac, has been charged with embezzlement on 9 July, less than a month after she was found guilty of abuse of office on a separate charge. The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) filed an indictment against the former minister, who is alleged to have partially paid private restaurant visits with her official representation budget on at least nine occasions between May 2017 and July 2019. The prosecutor's office suggests that the expenses amount to €9.732 of which 85% is believed to have been covered by EU funds, the remainder by Croatian taxpayers. During the investigation – which started in December 2023 – the defendant has paid the full amount as compensation for damages, according to the EU body that has the power to investigate and prosecute crimes affecting the EU's financial interests. Gabrijela Žalac, who served as Croatian minister for regional development and EU funds between 2016 and 2019, is reported to be the minister in question. 'For this criminal offence, she can be sentenced to between 6 months to five years of imprisonment,' EPPO press offices told Euractiv on Wednesday. Last month, Žalac was sentenced to two years in prison by the County Court of Zagreb after pleading guilty to abuse of office and trading in influence, following a 2022 EPPO indictment. The case involved a rigged 2017 public procurement deal worth €1.73 million, benefiting favoured companies through illegal procedures. Despite the tender being annulled, the contract was still awarded, causing at least €1 million in EU budget damage. The former minister then paid €200,000 in partial compensation under a plea deal. The Croatian Ministry for Regional Development and EU Funds did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Elisa Braun contributed reporting. (vib)
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU Cracks Down on $700M Customs Fraud Ring Tied to Chinese Imports
A coordinated raid by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) across four major cities earlier this week saw the arrest of 10 suspects—including two customs officers—for fraudulently importing goods from China as part of a wider crime ring responsible for 700 million euros ($820 million) in total damages. The customs fraud scheme was allegedly conducted mainly through Greece's Port of Piraeus, and enabled the perpetrators to evade customs duties and the E.U.'s value-added tax (VAT). More from Sourcing Journal China Trade Deal Solidified As Talks With Canada Devolve Tariffs Upend Fashion Sourcing and Disrupt Cash Flow Amid Widening Trade Gap FedEx Faces $170M in Tariff Headwinds as US Cracks Down on De Minimis Textiles, footwear, e-scooters and e-bikes are among the goods flooding the E.U. market that have been seized as part of the raid, called 'Calypso' by the authorities. Identities of the suspects have not been released. The raids took place across Athens; Madrid; Paris; and Sofia, Bulgaria; and encompassed 101 searches at the offices of customs brokers, companies controlled by the organized criminal groups under investigation and the premises of the suspects. The bust extended to offices of tax advisors, lawyers, accounts and transportation companies. As part of the raids, law enforcement agents seized 5.8 million euros ($6.8 million) in different currencies, including Hong Kong dollars, euros in digital wallets and cryptocurrencies. Greek authorities have conducted more than 20 raids, including the home of the alleged ringleader, a Chinese national, according to a report from Athens-based publication eKathimerini. Freezing orders were also issued in the country to seize real estate, boats and bank accounts. And in Spain, 11 real estate assets were also seized, as well as 27 vehicles and luxury items such as bags, watches and jewelry. Across the four major cities, law enforcement also confiscated 7,133 e-bikes and 3,696 e-scooters, as well as 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus. Firearms and cold weapons were found and seized in the houses of three of the suspects. According to the EPPO, the alleged criminal enterprise is mainly controlled by Chinese nationals, with several separate organizations handling different links of the scheme, including distribution to the market's different member states, as well as sales to end customers. The criminal activity focused on exploiting Customs Procedure 42 (CP42), a mechanism designed to simplify cross-border trade by exempting importers from paying VAT in the country of import, if the imported goods are subsequently transported to another E.U. country. A network of professional enablers including customs brokers, service providers and accounting firms helped facilitate the initial clearance at the Piraeus customs entry point. To evade customs duties, the actors would use false documents to either undervalue or misclassify the goods, and produce false invoices and transport documents to conceal the real destination of the goods. This enabled the actors to evade CP42, as the goods were not forwarded to the declared destinations. Instead, they stored the imports in secret warehouses controlled by the separate criminal organizations and distributed them via illicit channels. From there, the organizations recruited a large network of sham companies used for the fake sales and deliveries to hide the fraudulent chain. This allowed the groups to sell the products at a competitive price—and for cash—since the VAT remained unpaid and customs duties and anti-dumping fees are largely evaded. When the final sale is made, the groups launder the money and send the profits back to China. The investigation was carried out across 14 countries: Bulgaria, China, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Of the 700 million euros ($820 million) in total estimated damages, more than 250 million euros ($292.5 million) came from evaded customs duties—which contribute directly to the E.U. budget. Another nearly 450 million euros ($526.5 million) came from the unpaid VAT. The total damage caused by the fraudulent scheme under investigation is likely much higher, the EPPO says. The Port of Piraeus is majority owned and operated by China-based Cosco Shipping. EPPO did not indicate whether there were any ties to the Chinese national suspect arrested in Greece.
28-06-2025
- Politics
A hard-liner follows a fellow right-winger as head of Greece's migration and asylum ministry
Athens, Greece -- A hard-right lawmaker has replaced a fellow right-winger and political heavyweight accused of fraud as migration and asylum minister in Greece's government, a government spokesman announced Saturday. Thanos Plevris, 48, is succeeding Makis Voridis, 60, who resigned Friday to defend himself against allegations that he was possibly involved in an organized fraud scheme to provide farm subsidies to undeserving recipients. The European Public Prosecutor's Office, which has investigated the case, passed on a hefty file to the Greek Parliament that includes allegations of possible involvement of government ministers. Members of Parliament enjoy immunity from prosecution in Greece that can only be lifted by parliamentary vote. In his resignation letter, Voridis denied acting illegally and said he is resigning to clear his name. He noted that during his tenure as agricultural development and foods minister from July 2019 and January 2021, he capped individual subsidies and launched a record number of investigations. His detractors say those very actions are proof that he was aware of the corrupt subsidies system and did nothing to reform it. On Friday, four other lawmakers, three of whom had formerly served as deputy ministers in the Agricultural Policy Ministry, as well as a current deputy minister, also resigned. Their replacements were also announced Saturday by government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, who added they will be sworn in Monday. No changes are expected to be seen in Greece's tough migration policy under Plevris who, like Voridis and current health minister Adonis Georgiadis, joined the conservative New Democracy in 2012, leaving the right-populist Popular Orthodox Rally, or LAOS. Before LAOS, Voridis had been the leader of the youth wing of the far-right National Political Union, appointed to the post by jailed former dictator George Papadopoulos. He had replaced Nikos Michaloliakos, who went on to found the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and who is currently serving a prison term for leading what courts termed a 'criminal gang.' Voridis founded his own far-right party, Hellenic Front, and took part in several municipal and national elections between 1994 and 2004. In 2000, he allied himself with Plevris' father Konstantinos, a lawyer, far-right activist and self-styled 'proud fascist.' Voridis joined LAOS in 2006 and has been a lawmaker since 2007. Voridis is considered a political heavyweight and, if not for his far-right and sometimes violent past, he would have been considered a possible conservative leader, politicians and pundits agree. He now describes himself as an economic liberal and a 'non-extreme' nationalist.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
A hard-liner follows a fellow right-winger as head of Greece's migration and asylum ministry
Athens, Greece (AP) — A hard-right lawmaker has replaced a fellow right-winger and political heavyweight accused of fraud as migration and asylum minister in Greece's government, a government spokesman announced Saturday. Thanos Plevris, 48, is succeeding Makis Voridis, 60, who resigned Friday to defend himself against allegations that he was possibly involved in an organized fraud scheme to provide farm subsidies to undeserving recipients. The European Public Prosecutor's Office, which has investigated the case, passed on a hefty file to the Greek Parliament that includes allegations of possible involvement of government ministers. Members of Parliament enjoy immunity from prosecution in Greece that can only be lifted by parliamentary vote. In his resignation letter, Voridis denied acting illegally and said he is resigning to clear his name. He noted that during his tenure as agricultural development and foods minister from July 2019 and January 2021, he capped individual subsidies and launched a record number of investigations. His detractors say those very actions are proof that he was aware of the corrupt subsidies system and did nothing to reform it. On Friday, four other lawmakers, three of whom had formerly served as deputy ministers in the Agricultural Policy Ministry, as well as a current deputy minister, also resigned. Their replacements were also announced Saturday by government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, who added they will be sworn in Monday. No changes are expected to be seen in Greece's tough migration policy under Plevris who, like Voridis and current health minister Adonis Georgiadis, joined the conservative New Democracy in 2012, leaving the right-populist Popular Orthodox Rally, or LAOS. Before LAOS, Voridis had been the leader of the youth wing of the far-right National Political Union, appointed to the post by jailed former dictator George Papadopoulos. He had replaced Nikos Michaloliakos, who went on to found the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and who is currently serving a prison term for leading what courts termed a 'criminal gang.' Voridis founded his own far-right party, Hellenic Front, and took part in several municipal and national elections between 1994 and 2004. In 2000, he allied himself with Plevris' father Konstantinos, a lawyer, far-right activist and self-styled 'proud fascist.' Voridis joined LAOS in 2006 and has been a lawmaker since 2007. Voridis is considered a political heavyweight and, if not for his far-right and sometimes violent past, he would have been considered a possible conservative leader, politicians and pundits agree. He now describes himself as an economic liberal and a 'non-extreme' nationalist.
