EuroAsia Interconnector investigation almost ready, with processing including possible cri
Source: in-cyprus.com
A lengthy investigation by the Audit Office, launched when EuroAsia Interconnector was the implementing body of the Cyprus-Crete electrical interconnection and Odysseas Michaelides was Auditor General, is nearing its end, with the Independent Power Transmission Operator of Greece now having taken over as the implementing body and Andreas Papaconstantinou as the Auditor General.
Information received yesterday from the Audit Office indicates that the investigation’s conclusions – including those that may have criminal implications – are currently undergoing final processing and evaluation and will be delivered to the Auditor General on January 15.
Following his own assessment, Papaconstantinou will formalise the conclusions and if deemed necessary, those that may involve criminal matters will be sent to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation.
Informing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is considered imperative, as the entire project is being promoted and funded with €658 million by the European Union and the CINEA mechanism.
Therefore authorities are obliged to inform the EU Prosecutor’s Office about the utilisation of this grant but mainly about the possibility that a criminal investigation may be needed.
According to Philenews sources, the “electrical interconnection file” will be sent to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in late January, but a verbal briefing has already been conducted.
Additionally, in August 2023, there was prior written communication from former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides, through which information was provided about the evidence secured through the investigation up to that point.
The same sources indicate that the Audit Office’s investigation covered both controversial periods of the project’s promotion: Both when EuroAsia Interconnector was the implementing body and the period (after October 2023) when the Greek authority took over the project (on €48.8 million).
The investigation covered the involvement of politically exposed persons in the interconnection promotion process by EuroAsia, as well as former state officials, but subsequently expanded to issues such as the granting of the European grant, its utilisation, the formation and modification of the regulatory framework, negotiations between Cypriot authorities and the Greek Government for project support as well as the Cabinet’s decision for investment participation in the project under conditions and the commitment of a €100 million loan on behalf of the Republic initially to support EuroAsia and subsequently for purchasing shares in Great Sea Interconnector.
As part of the project viability assessment – and its final cost – the Audit Office is awaiting receipt of the due diligence study prepared for the Cypriot Government by an American law firm, with conclusions that cause great concern among state officials.
AKEL MP Eirini Charalambidou, in a letter to Auditor General Andreas Papaconstantinou on 19/11/2024, requested information about developments regarding the Cyprus-Crete electrical interconnection, the Greek authority’s from the Cyprus Energy Coordinating Authority and also asked to be informed whether the Audit Office has forwarded to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office the evidence it possesses.
Charalambidou expressed concern about the possibility that the money given to EuroAsia “may involve suspicious transactions and agreements that were made when EuroAsia Interconnector was still the project implementation body.”
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
