Monstrous findings are reflected in the report by the certified auditors of Mazars regarding deeds and days at the Evia Development Company, where millions of euros appear to have vanished into thin air and, instead of supporting citizens, seemingly turned into pleasure boats for wealthy and prominent figures.
The figures
A first look at the companies that appear to have been unlawfully supported with European funds, thereby already occupying the European Public Prosecutor's Office, indicates that the scandal will have a long tail and cause major tremors when the judicial investigation is concluded.
Behind the companies, celebrities, former footballers, and prominent business figures appear to be «hiding».
Beyond the multitude of irregularities in human resources management and complete disarray in decision-making, the major issue arising concerns the call «PRIVATE INVESTMENTS FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES AREAS IN THE REGION OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EVIA», where many proposals should have been rejected but were funded and are listed in the table below, on the justifiable grounds, on a case-by-case basis or cumulatively, of: a) a confluence of applications referencing the same property as registered headquarters, creating reasonable doubt regarding the validity and feasibility of simultaneous investment project implementation on the same property by beneficiaries, b) submitted supplementary documentation diverging from initial submissions and failing to support the long-term lease duration required by the call, as well as c) late supplementary documentation being submitted and included in the evaluation.
The list
The companies identified by the audit are:
BLUE TOPAZ NEPA
BRATIS A G SINGLE-MEMBER IKE
TONIC SHIPPING COMPANY
OK BOAT RENTAL SERVICES IKE
MINIMI YACHTING NEPA
ZOI AFRODITI SINGLE-MEMBER IKE
OMERTA NEPA
ALEHAZ IKE
MANOS S. & PANAGOPOULOU A. IKE
ZALLOU YACHTING NEPA
TASOULAS NEPA
BANDOLERA IKE
PERA YACHTS NEPA
TIENAR YACHTS NEPA
VANYCE SINGLE-MEMBER IKE
EVIA SAILING IKE
AVA NEPA
WINDS OF EVIA IKE
BLUE MARLIN NEPA
CH & R NEPA
PAPAKYRIAKOU MICHAIL SINGLE-MEMBER IKE
At the same address
It is worth noting that, according to the audit report, a common feature across a multitude of cases is the timely or untimely, on a case-by-case basis, submission of lease information declarations for the identical property with the lessor being either the legal entity 7TIPS SINGLE-MEMBER IKE or natural persons PE... ANT... and KONS... E... by the applicants.
Grading out of thin air
Furthermore, scoring for criterion 25 «Degree of maturity of implementation actions», which participates in the final score with a 15% weighting factor, failed to observe the principle of equal treatment, given that while proposals concerned companies under formation without a declared boat purchase order, both at project submission and during the submission window for supplementary elements (deadline for supplementary submission June 2, 2022), scores assigned among them differed, while cases also existed where enterprises active during project submission received a lower score in criterion 25 «Degree of maturity of implementation actions» than companies that were still under formation.
Disarray
Beyond this, there were beneficiaries who submitted a major modification request and proceeded, contrary to Article 21 of the Call, with activities (namely vessel purchase) related to the requested modification prior to the registration date of the application in the State Aid Information System (PSKE), without being disqualified by on-site verification bodies.
Other beneficiaries received the relevant vessel purchase invoice prior to the publication of the final evaluation results ranking table establishing their eligibility and/or prior to the deadline expiration for supplementary element submissions and, consequently, prior to modification submission, without being rejected by on-site verification bodies.
The investigation continues, as does the examination of the certified auditor's report.
Nikos Karoutzos
nkaroutzos@gmail.com
www.bankingnews.gr
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