Greek and EU authorities are investigating allegations of fraud linked to the way €2.5 billion in EU funds has been awarded to just 10 companies in Greece, Politico revealed earlier this week.
The funds are related to the EU Recovery Fund, also known as the Next Generation EU (NGEU), a €750 billion economic recovery package launched by the European Commission in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to support EU member states as they recover from the economic and social consequences of the pandemic.
According to the report, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched an investigation in parallel with a probe by the Greek competition commission.
The Greek investigation centers on public tender processes where companies allegedly colluded to avoid more than one of them competing for the same contract ― limiting the number of firms who benefited.
This may have driven up the fees they could charge, ultimately preventing Greek taxpayers from reaping the full benefits of its EU money, Politico says.
Greece is a beneficiary of the EU fund
With projects worth €35.95 billion, Greece is one of the main beneficiaries of the fund. About a fifth of that amount goes toward making the country more digital, according to the plan submitted to the European Commission.
To date, some 600 digital projects worth more than €2.5 billion have been tendered and contracted, according to data from the Central Electronic Register of Public Procurement.
In a statement, Greece’s competition commission said it was examining whether there was a violation of the EU treaty that “prohibits anti-competitive agreements and decisions of associations of undertakings that prevent, restrict or distort competition, unilateral practices that constitute invitation to collude or future price announcements to competitors and the abuse of a dominant position.”
10 companies in Greece investigated for EU fraud
Politico reports that the offices of the country’s three telecommunications firms — Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova — as well as five IT companies and two consultancies were raided by investigators from the Greek competition commission last month.
Between them, the 10 companies under investigation won contracts for more than 600 projects in the technology sector between 2020 and 2023, each one worth at least €100,000. Few of those projects had more than one bid during the tender process.
Accusations of fraud relating to the EU Recovery Fund are not limited to Greece. Last week Italian police arrested 22 people and seized assets worth over 600 million euros as part of an investigation into alleged fraud.
According to Reuters Italian police seized flats, villas, Rolex watches, Cartier jewelry, gold, cryptocurrencies and luxury cars such as a Lamborghini and a Porsche, in addition to some 600 million euros worth of illegitimate tax credits for home improvements.
Related: EU Sues Greece for Failing to Revise Flood Risk Plans
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