Searches in Bihor in a case of tax evasion and embezzlement involving the Micula brothers

Police officers from the Economic Crime Investigation Directorate, under the coordination of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, are conducting six house searches on Monday in Bihor County, at the headquarters and offices of companies involved in a large-scale tax evasion and embezzlement case, part of Operation Jupiter.

The investigation targets two individuals who allegedly coordinated the activities of a group of nine companies. These are believed to be the European Food and Drinks group, controlled by brothers Ioan and Viorel Micula. However, the two brothers were not in the country on Monday when the searches took place, sources close to the investigation told MEDIAFAX.

According to investigators, they allegedly set up a financial mechanism through which the assets of the companies in the group were illegally transferred to eight other companies also controlled by the same individuals.

The mechanism was allegedly designed to avoid the recovery of huge sums established by a European court ruling, which obliged the Romanian state to recover approximately €400 million from the group in question, of which €178 million represents the principal debt, with the rest being interest and penalties. The European court ruled that this money had been paid in the form of illegal state aid between 2014 and 2019.