French court convicts seven in organised €1.13m energy-renovation grant fraud

11 June 2026 , 20:41

429     0

French court convicts seven in organised €1.13m energy-renovation grant fraud

Seven people were convicted this week over a €1.13 million fraud involving the French energy-renovation scheme MaPrimeRénov’, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Paris.

MaPrimeRénov’ is a French government programme, partly funded by the EU under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), that provides financial support for energy-efficiency renovations in residential buildings.

The Paris Criminal Court found seven defendants guilty of fraud committed by an organized criminal group to unlawfully obtain public funds. They were sentenced to prison terms of up to three years, two years of which were suspended in certain cases, as well as fines ranging from €10,000 to €400,000. The court also ordered them to jointly repay the amounts unduly obtained, totaling approximately €1.13 million, to the National Housing Agency (Agence nationale de l’habitat – ANAH). Assets seized during the investigation were confiscated, totaling approximately €595,000.

The fraud was committed by an organized criminal group in France, in the Grand Est region, between 1 August 2022 and 9 June 2023. Several company managers and door-to-door sales agents took part in the large-scale fraud scheme involving the submission of fraudulent grant applications to the ANAH, for the purpose of carrying out energy audits. The investigations revealed that the applications contained forged documents, and that the audits had either not been carried out or had been conducted under irregular circumstances by door-to-door sales agents with no relevant qualifications.

The judgment, issued on 8 June 2026, may be subject to appeal. All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final decision of the competent French courts.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.

Elizabeth Baker

Technology & Business Editor