EPPO indicts 29 in major public procurement fraud case

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has filed an indictment against 29 Croatian citizens and one company over alleged EU funding and public procurement fraud connected to the Faculty of Geodesy in Zagreb.

Those indicted include a former deputy minister at the Ministry of Culture and Media, a former dean of the Faculty of Geodesy, and a former professor, EPPO confirmed.

“It is in the interest of all of us to clear this up,” said Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek in response to the indictment.

The charges include abuse of office, corruption, illegal favoritism, forgery of official documents, and money laundering.

According to EPPO, the two main suspects—the former dean and the former professor—allegedly orchestrated 27 manipulated public procurement procedures across four faculty projects worth nearly €6 million, 85% of which was financed by the European Union. They are accused of steering contracts toward favored companies in exchange for kickbacks.

Other defendants allegedly supported the scheme by submitting invalid or inflated bids, helping ensure the selection of predetermined companies.

The indictment further alleges that the two main suspects used project funds to purchase two vehicles for personal use and bought a boat they later rented to tourists. They are also accused of submitting 266 fraudulent claims for travel expenses and daily allowances for trips that never occurred.

Additionally, the suspects are charged with running a scheme that billed the Ministry of Culture more than €2.5 million for fraudulent and flawed earthquake damage assessments, further inflating the financial losses.