Three individuals and two companies have been convicted by the Paris Criminal Court over a €296,498 fraud involving EU agricultural subsidies in French Guiana, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The case covered the period from 2017 to 2021 and centred on a farming couple who unlawfully obtained €238,577 under the POSEI scheme, an EU programme that supports agriculture in remote and island regions, the EPPO announced on Tuesday.
The couple used a shell company to inflate the number of livestock declared and the amount of EU funding they were entitled to, while also applying for support in their own names.
False declarations were also submitted on behalf of their livestock breeding company, with the cooperation of a cattle and meat cooperative that transmitted aid requests to the paying agency.
The defendants also filed applications seeking a further €57,920 under the Common Agricultural Policy — the EU’s main farm subsidy framework.
Suspended prison sentences and fines
The convictions followed a plea agreement approved by the court, with the defendants given 10 days to lodge an appeal, the EPPO said.
The three individuals received suspended prison sentences of 12, eight and six months, and were fined €40,000, €20,000 (including €10,000 suspended) and €10,000 respectively.
They were also barred from holding elected public office for eight months.
The livestock breeding company was ordered to dissolve and enter liquidation, while confiscation orders totalling €55,510 were imposed on the farming couple.
The cattle and meat cooperative was fined €20,000 and was also subject to a confiscation order of €24,279.
The EPPO said the investigation began after irregularities were detected by the French Overseas Agricultural Development Office (ODEADOM), with support from the French Gendarmerie’s investigative unit in French Guiana and other investigative bodies.
