Skopje, 3 August 2023 (MIA) - A project dated 2015, worth EUR 660,000, for a software at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, is the case regarding which the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has found irregularities and recommended that the state returns the money.
 

According to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Ljupcho Nikolovski, it is not about any agreement or matter related to IPARD, but about a project that has been implemented through IPA support for the Agriculture Ministry.

The investigation has already been completed and there is a concrete case with concrete legal actions for the case. The case has been submitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office for organized crime, and the Agriculture Ministry urges for the case to be completely resolved.
 

"We have one OLAF case that has been completed with a recommendation. It is about a project dated 2015, and not related to IPARD, but to IPA support to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, for a software regarding which the state has to return the money. OLAF conducted a procedure concluding that irregularities are found, which is why it recommends that the state returns the funds. The Government made a decision regarding the case at one of its recent sessions, in accordance with all procedures, and the case was sent to the Prosecutor's Office," Nikolovski said on Thursday. 

The Minister stressed that the Agriculture Ministry demands and urges for the case to be resolved.

"Let's be clear, precise and transparent. I don't want to spoil the successful IPARD story. We need to build trust with people, we have EUR 120 million at our disposal, and we want to fully use them," said Nikolovski. 

He also showed a document according to which OLAF has completed an investigation into an abuse of IPA funds through a project implemented in 2015, and it refers to an agreement signed on November 20, 2015, following a tender procedure, "Agriculture Information System Upgrade and Establishment of Data Exchange Systems between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and Other Relevant Institutions", which is carried out in a decentralized manner, within the Program for Assistance in Transition and Institutional Upgrading.

"On April 18, 2023, the European Commission submitted a letter regarding irregularity of an EU-funded agreement through IPA. The Government, through the Ministry of Finance, has reviewed it and is already acting on the report submitted within the completed OLAF investigation. So, this is a completed investigation in which there is a concrete case with concrete legal actions. The Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime already has an ongoing procedure for this case, and the Agriculture Ministry urges for the case to be completely resolved," Nikolovski pointed out.

Photo: MIA