Under the pretext of growing carrots, parsley and onions, a group of scammers extorted millions of Euro in grants from the agricultural agency in Gdynia, report investigators. In this way, the perpetrators committed fraud for nearly 200 million złoty (around 49 million Euro).
Officers of the Police Central Bureau of Investigation office in Gdansk, under the supervision of the Appellate Prosecutor's Office, arrested five people suspected of such organised criminal activities. Their victim was the Gdynia branch of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture.
"The suspects were presented with allegations of committing a total of 74 offences, including fraud, VAT fraud and false certification of documents," said Katarzyna Balcer, spokesperson for the Police Central Investigation Bureau.
The group took advantage of the financial support programmes offered by the agencies to agricultural producers. They took huge subsidies, although their crops and investments were mainly on paper and in reality they were incomparably smaller than declared. The suspects could face up to 15 years' imprisonment.
Source: rp.pl
