The first conviction in a major case of corruption and misuse of European funds was issued by the Zagreb Regional Court, following an investigation conducted by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) concerning the Ministry of Culture and Media of Croatia and the Faculty of Geodesy at the University of Zagreb.
At the heart of the case lies an alleged organized corruption ring, in which, according to the indictment, a former state secretary of culture, a former dean, a former professor of the Faculty of Geodesy, and executives of private companies participated. Prosecution authorities argue that the former dean and the former professor manipulated 27 public procurement tenders linked to four projects co-financed by the European Union, with a total budget of nearly 6 million euros. According to the indictment, the contracts were directed to pre-selected companies through fictitious or inflated bids, while part of the European money ended up as illegal financial benefits.
At the same time, the former state secretary is accused of assigning the project of mapping earthquake damage in Croatia to the Faculty of Geodesy, despite the fact that, according to the EPPO, he knew it lacked the necessary operational capacity to implement it. The assignment allegedly favored a company controlled by the two main defendants, while false or overpriced technical reports were approved.
Former state secretary in the frame
The total damage from the case is estimated at approximately 2.8 million euros, of which 1.2 million euros concern the budget of the European Union, 1.4 million euros the state budget of Croatia, and about 200,000 euros the Faculty of Geodesy. The first convictions resulted from the indictment submitted by the EPPO in December 2025 against 29 natural persons and one company. Ten defendants fully accepted the charges under a plea bargain agreement. Out of these, seven represented companies that secured the contested contracts and, according to the case file, returned part of the amounts they received as illegal kickbacks to the organizers of the ring.
The remaining three represented businesses that submitted fictitious or artificially inflated bids to ensure the assignment of the projects to the predetermined contractors. The ten convicted individuals were found guilty of complicity in abuse of official authority, complicity in laundering proceeds from criminal activities, violation of public procurement legislation, and forgery of public or commercial documents.
Three of them were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to eleven months, which were converted into community service. Two were hit with additional fines of 20,000 and 70,000 euros respectively, while the remaining seven received suspended prison sentences and, in five cases, fines of up to 20,000 euros. Criminal proceedings continue for the remaining 19 defendants, including the former state secretary of culture, the former dean, and the former professor of the Faculty of Geodesy. The EPPO reiterates that all defendants are presumed innocent until a final judicial decision is issued.
The hour of judgment arrives for Greece
The Croatian case demonstrates that investigations by the EPPO are not limited to bringing charges, but also lead to the first convictions when evidence permits. For many legal circles, this development indicates the direction the EPPO is taking in major fraud cases against the European budget. Greece is now at the center of a corresponding investigation regarding OPEKEPE, a fact that heightens interest in the next moves of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. The investigation regarding OPEKEPE has already advanced to a particularly mature stage.
The EPPO has requested the lifting of immunity for active members of parliament in order to continue the criminal probe, while dozens of cases related to European agricultural subsidies are simultaneously being examined. Concurrently, Greek authorities are under increased pressure from European institutions to tackle fraud phenomena in agricultural subsidies. The case has already led to political developments, while arrests, depositions, and new summonses of suspects continue within the framework of the EPPO investigation.
A powerful precedent
The conviction in Croatia establishes a powerful precedent at the level of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. This does not mean that the Greek case will have the same outcome or the same timeline; however, it demonstrates that EPPO investigations can lead all the way to the courtroom and the issuance of judicial decisions, provided the evidence is deemed sufficient. Each case, however, is examined independently, and everyone involved is presumed innocent until a final and unappealable judicial ruling is delivered.
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