The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched an investigation into suspected procurement fraud involving 29 EU-funded IT projects worth approximately €7 million in Romania.
On August 13, Romanian authorities conducted 19 searches at the premises of individuals and companies as part of the investigation, which focuses on projects financed through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity – Integrated Territorial Investment Danube Delta.
The projects involved the procurement of IT consultancy services, software and digital infrastructure for public authorities, including town halls and county councils.
According to investigators, a criminal network may have manipulated public procurement procedures to steer contracts toward preselected suppliers of cloud infrastructure. Authorities suspect that consultancy firms repeatedly submitted documentation with striking similarities in its wording, structure and authorship, indicating that materials may have been systematically reused across different tenders. Investigators are also examining allegations that suppliers provided false, inaccurate or incomplete information during procurement procedures.
The searches were conducted with the assistance of several Romanian police units specialising in organised crime, economic crime and special operations. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) also provided operational analysis to support the investigation. The case highlights the vulnerability of large-scale EU funding programmes to coordinated procurement manipulation, particularly where public institutions rely on external consultants to design technical requirements and evaluate suppliers. The investigation remains ongoing, and no charges or convictions have been announced. All individuals and companies involved are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Romanian courts. The EPPO is the European Union’s independent prosecution service responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests, including fraud involving EU funds.