HomeEconomyProsecutor specializing in European funds Ana Carla Almeida leaves...

Prosecutor specializing in European funds Ana Carla Almeida leaves the DCIAP. But she leaves warnings about the lack of oversight of the PRR

Prosecutor Ana Carla Almeida led important raids on Tuesday in more than 54 locations within the scope of Operation Showroom, which investigates alleged crimes of fraud in obtaining subsidies and qualified tax fraud in incentives of more than three million euros financed with funds Europeans. But it is already certain that she will leave the Central Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) by August 31.

Recognized as one of the Public Ministry’s greatest specialists in the fight against European embezzlement, Ana Carla Almeida decided to leave the coordination of the anti-corruption section of the DCIAP (which includes crimes of embezzlement) and run as deputy attorney general. a position in the relationship courts. The termination of the position was approved in the plenary session of the Superior Council of the Public Ministry on May 11 and was already published in the Bulletin of the MP’s management body.

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This is a major setback for DCIAP, at a time when the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Program (RRP) and other EU-funded programs is reaching cruising speed. It is recalled that the Government of António Costa decided to bypass the magistrate in the selection process for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which led Ana Carla Almeida to proceed with a complaint in the European courts, which turned out to be unsuccessful.

Magistrate criticizes lack of strategy and resources to monitor application of the PRR

Even before her resignation request was submitted to the Superior Council of the Public Ministry, Ana Carla Almeida signed a report on the work of the Recovery and Resilience Plan Audit and Control Commission, which contains harsh criticism of the failures in supervision of the execution of the so-called ‘bazooka’, a commitment by Prime Minister António Costa himself. The report was initially published by Correio da Manhã and SIC Notícias.

The magistrate is the representative of the Public Ministry of the Audit and Control Commission of the PRR, which helps the Structure Mission Recover Portugal to supervise the proper use of the European ‘bazooka’ that will give Portugal a global value of 16 thousand 644 million euros. On August 3, 2021, Portugal had already received around €2.2 billion of the PRR.

There is also the possibility that Portugal will receive an additional amount between 1.5 and the €1.6 billion because the PRR was negotiated based on the GDP falls of 2020 and 2021 and there is still one more option: request additional loans from €2.3 billion.

Criticism of the report by prosecutor Ana Carla Almeida has various origins, the most relevant being the following:

  • Unsupervised projects. Just the occurrence of double financing of investment projects that are part of the Portugal 2020 and PRR programs, leaving out the projects supported by Portugal 2030. More: also the projects of the Instituto de Financiamento da Agricultura e Pescas that are part of Portugal 2020 were not properly supervised. “An elementary rule of legal interpretation imposes that the interpreter must not distinguish what the legislator has not distinguished”, writes Ana Carla Almeida. In other words, in the abstract, there is the possibility that some projects have received double funding from different EU-funded programmes, which is not allowed.
  • Absence of a control strategy. The DCIAP magistrate also criticizes the “absence of an Audit and Control Strategy”, which came to have a draft agreed upon at the February 9, 2022 meeting of the PRR Audit and Control Committee, which only meets once per quarter, but it was not concluded.
  • Internal Control System needs “improvements”. The General Inspection of the Treasury carried out an “audit of compliance with the PRR’s management and internal control system” with the Structure of the Recover Portugal Mission and detected that “it needs to be improved, with a view to ensuring its necessary and full compliance.” regulatory requirements and guidelines. In particular, those related to “the prevention of conflicts of interest, fraud, corruption and double financing”.
  • Conflict of interests. The Audit and Control Committee, which is directed by the General Treasury Inspectorate, issues “previous opinions on disbursement requests” that must be submitted to the European institutions so that payments can be made to Portugal. But, at the same time, the same entity must “supervise and audit the operation” of the Internal Control System of the Missão Recuperar Portugal Structure.
  • Half of the human resources needed. The Structure of the Recover Portugal Mission depends on the Development and Cohesion Agency, so there is a “lack of human resources” so that the body that must monitor the proper functioning of the PRR can fulfill its functions. Of the 60 expected workers, only half (29) had been hired as of December 20, 2021.

Source: Observadora

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