March 28 (SeeNews) - The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said it has launched an investigation into suspected fraud involving the purchase of two tugboats in Romania that led to a loss of about 7 million euro ($7.5 million) from the EU budget.
As part of the probe, the EPPO ran 12 searches targeting officials of the Administration of the Galati Lower Danube River (AFDJ) and the Romanian Naval Authority (ANR), it said in a press release on Wednesday.
The investigation centres on a suspected fraud related to the procurement of two tugboats for the Lower Danube Delta. AFDJ Galati officials secured EU funding from the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (POIM) for the purchase.
The suspects allegedly drafted tender specifications that favoured only one applicant, preventing other potential bidders from participating. Subsequently, the delivered tugboats had a higher nautical draught than necessary, rendering them unsuitable for river navigation.
The searches involved multiple law enforcement agencies including the EPPO support srtucture in Romania, the Galati organised crime brigade, the Constanta county anticorruption service, the Galati county police inspectorate SAS, and the Romanian gendarmerie.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union, investigating crimes against the financial interests of the bloc.
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