Seven defendants were formally charged, five individuals and two legal members, as part of Operation ‘Scorched Earth’, which included 26 search and seizure warrants.
The Portuguese Judicial Police are investigating alleged fraud in the allocation of European funds intended for reforestation projects in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, with estimated damages exceeding 3.6 million euros.
In a statement released, the criminal police in Portugal revealed that the operation was carried out in the districts of Lisbon and Funchal, as part of an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, in which seven defendants were charged: five individuals and two legal members.
According to the PJ (Judicial Police), during the investigation, “management and capital control relationships were detected between beneficiary and suppliers, within the scope of projects co-financed by the Portugal 2020 program, which could constitute situations of conflict of interest.”
“The participants include entities that are beneficiaries of operations related to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), through which a payment of €3,829,345.27 was requested and approval and payment of incentives totaling at least €3,675,231.87 was obtained,” the statement reads.
The operation, named ‘Scorched Earth’, included 26 search and seizure warrants, executed by 58 inspectors and 15 forensic experts, with the participation of two European delegate prosecutors.
The facts under investigation are likely to constitute the crimes of aggravated fraud in obtaining subsidies, economic participation in business, undue receipt of advantage, corruption, and money laundering.