The Prosecutors within the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) have made 37 searches at members of an organized criminal group in Bucharest, Ilfov and Iasi, which allegedly set up over 100 "ghost" companies on behalf of modest individuals with a minimum level of education.

The crime ring’s damage estimated was at EUR 27 million, reports local Mediafax.

The group is being investigated for tax evasion, money laundering, the use and production of false documents or statements that result in falsely obtained funds from the general budget of the European Communities or from the budgets managed by them.

There have been searches at the Ministry of European Funds too, where several computers were taken, which allegedly contain documents related to the illegal request for accessing European funds, according to DIICOT sources.

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