The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has opened an investigation into Greece’s management of EU funds for the construction of migrant reception and accommodation camps in the period 2020-21.
The focus of the investigation is the extravagant cost of projects that were awarded to private companies without a public tender, after the government cited increased migrant flows. Two of the projects allegedly under scrutiny are the camps in Malakasa, north of Athens, and Sintiki, in the region of Serres, northern Greece.
The project in Malakasa concerned the expansion of the existing camp to accommodate 1,500 migrants transferred from the islands. Kathimerini found that the contract was awarded in April 2020 to a company based in Athens. The initial contract for the configuration and basic maintenance of the structure was worth €4.3 million. The project was delivered after at least five extensions, and after a supplementary contract worth €1.7 million was signed.
The contract for the second facility in Sintiki was awarded in July 2020 to a technical company based in Kavala, with an initial cost of €3.6 million. Public records show that the construction received at least three extensions until its completion, while the competent services had in the meantime proposed two supplementary contracts totaling €1.7 million.
