European Public Prosecutor’s Office investigates fictitious mussel farm in the Black Sea

Suspicions of large-scale fraud with EU funds in a project to build a mussel farm in the Black Sea – southeast of Cape Emine in the municipality of Nessebar, have prompted an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The project was approved in 2020 under a grant agreement with a deadline for implementation of September 2021, BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova reported. At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, on October 1 this year, investigators and divers from the Main Directorate “Border Police” – Burgas conducted an inspection of the seabed over an area of ​​240 thousand square meters using underwater and aerial drones. Underwater video footage showed no traces of infrastructure related to a mussel farm, as there was only sand on the bottom.

For the implementation of the project, the beneficiary received the amount of over 280,000 euros, of which over 210,000 from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, and the rest from the national budget. The investigation continues with the support of the General Directorate of the National Police.