Police arrest 22 in EU raids linked to suspected theft of Italy's pandemic funds worth $650 million

Police in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia have arrested 22 people as part of an investigation into the suspected theft of hundreds millions of euros in post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union. The 600 million euros ($650 million) in post-pandemic money was meant for Italy, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office said. The EPPO said it suspects a criminal organization of having diverted the non-refundable funds from the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan between 2021 and 2023. The Italian program is part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, a multi-billion-euro plan that was devised to help EU countries breathe new life into their virus-ravaged economies.