The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb has initiated an investigation against 21 Croatian citizens, including one public official and a former public official, who were arrested yesterday in a probe into possible corruption and subsidy fraud involving subsidies from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF).
The arrests have been conducted in the wake of 30 searches involving 150 police officers, carried out on 6 May 2026 in cooperation with the Sisak-Moslavina Police Department [Policijska uprava sisačko-moslavčka] and the Independent Sector for Financial Investigations at the Ministry of Finance’s Tax Administration [Ministarstvo financija, Porezna uprava, Samostalni sektor za financijske istrage].
Among the suspects are a former expert advisor in one of Croatia’s counties of the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (hereinafter: the Agency), and the Head of the same Agency’s branch, due to the suspicion of abuse of office and authority and receiving bribes.
According to the investigation, from 2020 onwards, the former expert formed a criminal association with two more suspects with the aim of enabling interested farmers to obtain undue subsidies from the EAFRD and the EAGF, in exchange for a financial reward. It is alleged that the former expert, together with the two other members of the criminal organisation, inflated the land areas in the relevant register and falsified documents to attest that agricultural activities were carried out – including by preparing fraudulent invoices for the sale of manure and fraudulent laboratory soil analyses, to be added to the applications for EU funds.
Based on the evidence, the former public official and the two other suspects, together with the farmers under investigation, attempted to unlawfully obtain the payment of a total of €670 000 in EU funds, of which €357 000 were paid. The members of the criminal group received a financial reward amounting to a total of at least €36 000.
In addition, the Head of the Agency’s branch office is suspected of coordinating with at least another four farmers to provide assistance in the preparation and submission of applications for EU funding, in order to secure approval of agricultural incentives and subsidies under potentially irregular circumstances, in exchange for illicit financial benefits.
The facts under investigation may constitute abuse of office and authority, receiving and offering bribes, subsidy fraud and forgery of documents.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Croatian courts of law.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.
