In addition to the exorbitant cost, the process had also drawn the opposition’s attention because a New Democracy official had been appointed director of the ministry’s Technical Service, which was in charge of both constructions.
Then-Minister of Migration Notis Mitarachi defended the appointment when the issue was raised in parliament in 2020, arguing that the technical service then operated through NGOs, which managed 82 percent of EU migration funds.
The first contract now under EPPO investigation involves the expansion of an existing camp in Malakasa, built in order to accommodate 1,500 migrants transferred from the islands. The contract was awarded in April 2020 to a company based in Athens, without prior tender. While the initial deal for the structure’s basic maintenance was worth €4.3 million, the project was eventually delivered after at least five extensions and a supplementary contract worth €1.7 million.
The EPPO is also probing a contract for the center in northern Greece, which was awarded in July 2020 to a technical company based in Kavala, with an initial cost of €3.6 million. Similarly, that project underwent at least three extensions until its completion, costing an extra €1.7 million.
The construction of the two camps is also mentioned in an internal document from an international organization in charge of migration that is based in Greece, which was cited by Kathimerini. The document notes that cost of both centers was exorbitant compared to any similar construction projects funded by the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs in Greece.
“The EU has financed very similar actions that were completed in the same timeframe (or even shorter) for an amount that was 15 times lower than the one paid by the MoMA [Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum],” the document reads.
According to the organization’s calculations, for other facilities with similar characteristics, the same government had spent just €270 per beneficiary compared to €23,900 in Malakasa.
Greece’s conservative New Democracy government is under growing pressure, as a number of its officials may allegedly be involved in EPPO investigations into the misappropriation of EU funds. Several ministers resigned last summer and also in April for their alleged involvement in a massive EU farm scandal.