The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana is leading an investigation into attempted fraud involving EU public funds for solar power plants.
According to a statement published by EPPO, the investigation surrounds irregularities in a public tender for the co-financing of small solar power plants, financed by the European Cohesion Fund.
The office explains that during checks of a payment request amounting to €215,265.37 ($247,728.46) it was established that, in breach of the tender conditions, an unnamed applicant company allegedly placed binding orders for equipment before submitting its application. “As additional documents raised doubts as to their authenticity, no funds were disbursed in this case,” the statement continues.
The same company submitted five applications under the same tender for installations across different supermarket rooftops between September 2022 and January 2023. The company received payments totalling €955,275.90 based on four of these applications.
“According to the investigation, the company falsely declared that the solar panels would be supplied by a third-party company, while in reality the equipment was provided by the applicant itself,” the EPPO says. “This constitutes a further breach of the tender rules, which required that equipment be supplied and installed by independent third parties under market conditions.”
EPPO confirms that house searches were carried out this week by the Slovenian police department in the city of Celje, leading to the seizure of documents, electronic data and devices. The office’s statement concludes that all persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the Slovenian court of law.
In January 2025, EPPO investigated a fraudulent scheme involving two Slovenian companies accused of misrepresenting a solar project to obtain EU funds. A final outcome into the investigation is yet to be made public.
Slovenia installed 146.5 MW of solar last year, taking cumulative solar capacity to 1.57 GW.
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