Organised crime and anti-terror prosecutors' searches at European Funds Ministry

The Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crimes and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors on Monday have completed 37 searches in several locations in Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov (ring around Romania's capital city) and Iasi (northeastern Romania) among which at the Ministry of European Funds (MFE), where they have taken several computers from.

According to a DIICOT release, the raids took place within an action aiming to dismantle an organised crime grouping, specialised in tax evasion, money laundering, use and presentation of fake documents or statements having as result to obtain unlawfully funds from the European Communities' consolidated budget or from the budgets administrated by such or in their name, forgery under private signature and forgery.

The prosecutors say that between 2010-2014, on Romania's territory (the Bucharest-Ilfov and Moldavia's areas) a multi-level operating grouping ran pyramid-scheme activities. Several persons, from various environments, joined this grouping, each of whom getting specialised and having clear-cut attributions.

Prosecutors also say that in this case crimes against the European Union's financial interests were also committed, by getting non-reimbursable financial funds, fraudulently and based on fake documents.

The grouping is accused of approximately 27 million euros loss and cca 20 million euros in attempt to crimes of fraud with European funds.AGERPRES