May 7 (Reuters) - The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said on Thursday it had arrested 21 Croatians, including an acting and a former public official, in a probe into possible corruption and fraud involving European Union farm subsidies.
The head and a former expert adviser of a payment agency of agricultural funds in one of Croatia's counties were among those arrested on May 6 in coordination with local police and Croatian tax administration authorities for suspected "abuse of office and authority and receiving bribes", the EPPO said in a statement.
The EPPO, which began operations in 2021, is the EU's independent public prosecution office tasked with investigating and bringing to judgment crimes against the bloc's financial interests. It first announced the investigation into the Croatian affair on Wednesday.
The acting public official under arrest is suspected of coordinating with farmers to help prepare and submit applications andsecure EU farm subsidies under potentially irregular circumstances, in exchange for illicit financial benefits, the EPPO said on Thursday.
It also said a former expert was suspected of having set up a criminal gang with another two suspects to help farmers obtain farm subsidies by inflating pasturelandand falsifying documents in return for a financial reward since 2020.
Neither Croatian state police nor a government spokesperson in Zagreb responded immediately to a request for comment.
The arrests followeda scandal in Greece over suspected fraud similarly related to EU farm subsidies that has shaken the centre-right government in recent months.
(Reporting by Angeliki KoutantouEditing by Gareth Jones)
