Some €32 million in pandemic support was disbursed to almost 5,000 beneficiaries who did not qualify with the Finance Ministry admitting it was an unprecedented project which had to proceed without many bureaucratic procedures.
In fact, even foreign companies operating in Cyprus had received €13.8 million in sponsorship without being entitled to – at the expense of the taxpayer, Philenews reports citing Auditor General Odyseas Michaelides.
Michaelides also told House Audit Committee members on Thursday that no effort has been made to recover some €32 million while non-beneficiary foreign companies have returned about €9 million.
The Auditor General also said that one plan had been submitted by the Ministry to the European Commission and another was implemented by Nicosia.
“We found significant deviations in the application and implementation of the plan by the Ministry of Finance, compared to the plan approved by the European economic recovery plan which render the payments made to any non-beneficiaries and any overpayment as illegal state aid,” Michaelides told the MPs.
He went as far as to describe the implementation of the support plan as “sloppy”.
