DIICOT searches in 2 million euros damage fraud case

Law enforcement with the Bacau Organized Crime Brigade, together with the the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) Bacau prosecutors, conducted, on Wednesday morning, 33 house searches in the counties of Neamt, Brasov, Ilfov and in the municipality of Bucharest, in a criminal case concerning the crimes of constituting an organized criminal group, fraud with particularly serious consequences, the fictitious transfer of shares held in a commercial company, for the purpose of committing a crime or evading prosecution or for the purpose of making it more difficult, and money laundering, informs a press release sent by IPJ Bacau to AGERPRES.

According to IPJ Bacau, starting with January 2022, a criminal group organized in order to obtain important material benefits by committing the crime of fraud with particularly serious consequences would have been established in Bucharest.

"The organized criminal group, joined by other members along the way, would have acted in a coordinated manner until now, a total damage of approximately 2 million euros having been caused so far through its activity, to the detriment of over 70 legal entities on the entire territory of the country, producers or distributors of various goods. The actions of misleading the injured persons took place following the negotiation, conclusion and execution of contracts for the sale and purchase of goods, for which there would never have been the intention to pay them, by sending some payment instruments that were already known from the time they were filled in that they would not be able to be settled due to the lack of funds available in the account, in order to obtain unfair material benefits," said the spokesperson of IPJ Bacau, sub-commissioner Catalina Paduraru.

The investigators maintain that the activity of the organized criminal group, also made up of close associates of some criminal groups in the city of Bucharest, was thoroughly prepared and involved the completion of several stages.A