Gov’t welcomes investigations into fraud allegations, says Marinakis

The government welcomes any investigation into allegations of fraud linked to the way €2.5 billion in European Union funds has been awarded to just 10 companies in Greece, Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis has said.

He was responding to a question about a Brussels-based news site Politico report that said the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Hellenic Competition Commission are investigating how 600 digital projects worth more than 2.5 billion euros were awarded.

Marinakis said that the Competition Commission investigation follows a complaint, adding that the Hellenic Court of Audit exercises full control over the of the specific tendering process.

“The government and the individual ministries have always acted with a view to adhering to all the prescribed procedures,” he noted.

The Politico report said authorities are investigating allegations of fraud linked to how 2.5 billion euros of EU funds have been granted to 10 companies in Greece. 

Last month, Kathimerini reported that the Competition Commission conducted unannounced inspections in the offices of a large number of IT and related service providers, including the country’s three telecommunications service providers (Cosmote, Vodafone, Nova), as part of an investigation into possible bid rigging.

The tenders in question are mainly those launched by ministries (Justice, Education, Environment, Digital Governance and others) and concerns digital upgrading projects that are financed by the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund, Kathimerini understands.

“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,” the Politico report said.

“This may have driven up the fees they could charge, ultimately preventing Greek taxpayers from reaping the full benefits of its EU money,” it continued, adding: “The probe is the latest blow to the credibility of the EU’s post-pandemic economic recovery fund, originally worth €723 billion, which doles out loans and grants to the bloc’s 27 countries.”