The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has announced the arrest of 15 people suspected of defrauding more than €3.5 million from the so-called reparaturbonus (Repair Bonus) programme financed by the European Union via the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF).
According to the EPPO, the 15 individuals are part of several criminal organisations.
The Repair Bonus is an initiative of the Austrian Government that promotes and incentivises the repair of electronic devices and household appliances. Its purpose is to encourage sustainability, reduce electronic waste and support local repair businesses.
The suspects allegedly registered existing and many fictitious companies as partner businesses of the Reparaturbonus.
On November 21, the EPPO claimed that they allegedly submitted false reimbursement claims to the Austrian Government through various companies.
“This allowed them to submit reimbursement claims for repairs to the national administrative and funding agency of the programme. After having been confirmed as partner businesses, the suspects submitted thousands of reimbursement requests claiming subsidies for repairs that allegedly never took place,” the EPPO said.
On October 10, in its annual report, the EPPO also claimed that an increasing amount of money from the €240 billion European Union budget was being spent in “irregular ways”.
An increasing amount of money from the €240 billion EU budget is being spent in “irregular ways”, and the record amount of financial debt is problematic, the European Court of Auditors has said. https://t.co/mXcNdBekP3
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 10, 2024
