A fake email. A diverted bank transfer. Nearly €70,000 stolen from an EU mission in Somalia — now a prison sentence follows.
A Spanish citizen has been sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating a service provider to the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia in order to fraudulently obtain funds, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Madrid.
The case involved funds allocated to EUCAP Somalia, a mission tasked with supporting the Federal Somali Police Force and strengthening maritime security and law enforcement capabilities in Somalia.
According to prosecutors, on December 27, 2022, the defendant sent an email to the EU mission posing as a legitimate supplier of medical and laboratory equipment. In the message, he requested that the next scheduled payment be transferred to a different bank account — one under his control.
Authorities said he had obtained key operational details from an unidentified third party, enabling him to execute the fraud. On January 9, 2023, €69,751.40 was transferred into the account he controlled.
In addition to the three-year prison sentence, Criminal Chamber Two of Spain’s Audiencia Nacional imposed a fine calculated at €10 per day for 10 months. The court also ordered the defendant to reimburse the full amount unlawfully obtained.
The verdict, issued on February 9, 2026, marks the first conviction handed down by a Criminal Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional following an EPPO investigation in Madrid. The ruling remains subject to appeal.
The EPPO is the European Union’s independent prosecution office, responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests.
