Complaint no. JOG/19/1/2024

As a result of the investigation procedure conducted in accordance with Act XXVII of 2022, The Integrity Authority filed a complaint against unknown person at the Criminal Directorate General of the National Tax and Customs Administration for the offence of budget fraud and the misdemeanour of using a forged private document on 21 February 2024.

The objective of the investigation procedure conducted by the Authority was to investigate the use of European Union funds provided for certain projects (development of free public welfare functions of forest ecosystems) concerning controlled pricing substantially exceeding the market price, tenderer independence, conflict of interest, and the supplying of false data.

In the course of the investigation procedure, the Authority has ascertained

  • the suspicion of breach of legal regulations in relation to conflict of interest and independence,
  • the possible violation of the principle of equal treatment against the tenderers by establishing unequal conditions,
  • the suspicion of submitting false documents in order to apply for grant, and
  • the suspicion that the tenderers may have obtained grant amounts in excess of the historical cost of the project due to alleged controlled pricing exceeding the market price.

According to the Authority, all of the above-mentioned circumstances may have a negative impact on the implementation of European Union financial support and violate the sound financial management of the European Union budget.

Of the above investigative findings, it is relevant to the criminal complaint submitted by the Authority that most of the tenderers had submitted their funding applications with design documents prepared by the same designer, identical technical content, and project size tailored, nearly in all cases, to the maximum grant amount. The examination of the tender documents (in particular, that of the seal, usernames, signatures, and comments) raised suspicions that false bids had been submitted in the case of certain grant applicants.

The case is still pending.