Czech Entrepreneur Charged with Money Laundering and Subsidy Fraud by EU Public Prosecutor’s Office

Date: 1 December 2023

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has filed a criminal indictment against a Czech entrepreneur at the Regional Court of Ostrava. The defendant is accused of subsidy fraud and money laundering.

The Entrepreneur’s IT Project: A Misuse of European Funds

The Czech entrepreneur, named in the indictment, was granted €1 million from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme ‘Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness’. The funds were allocated for a project aimed at creating a modern long-term data storage system in the Moravian-Silesian region.

False Documentation and Payment of Personal Debts

• Evidence suggests that the defendant submitted falsified documents to the European Commission, stating that his company had secured alternative sources of financing for the project, as a prerequisite for receiving EU contributions.
• Fraudulent documents supposedly showing the delivery of data archiving technologies from German and British companies were also submitted.
• However, it is believed that the entrepreneur used these funds instead for settling personal debts and meeting other business obligations, rather than for the intended project.

Legal Consequences

If convicted, the entrepreneur is likely to face a prison sentence of between 5-10 years, along with possible confiscation of property. All parties involved are considered innocent until proven guilty by the competent Czech courts.

The Role of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

The EPPO is an independent public prosecution office of the European Union. Its purpose is to investigate, prosecute, and bring to judgement any criminal offenses that target the financial interests of the EU.

Please note that this article should not be considered legal advice, nor should it serve as the basis for any official investigations.