Professor 'led gang that took EU millions'

Anthony Butcher · 11-11-2004, 03:57 AM

Quote:

A criminal gang of professionals and academics led by a Sicilian professor defrauded the European Union of millions of pounds in a fake youth training programme, Italian police claimed yesterday after a string of dawn raids across the country.

Among those arrested was the ring's alleged mastermind, Prof Salvatore Messina, 51, a Sicilian academic with the Université Paris 13 in France, who also lectures at the University of Palermo.

After the raids in Palermo, Rome, Milan, Brescia, Turin and the southern city of Campobasso, police held the professor and six associates on fraud charges. Another 13 people were cautioned.

Police seized a total of 39 bank accounts and £3.5 million, as well as tracing other illegally obtained funding to offshore companies based in tax havens.

Police claim that up to £13 million had been creamed off.

mkpdavies · 11-11-2004, 12:51 PM

The EU is a soft target thanks to their attitude towards accountancy. Anyone who spots fraud is sacked. It's a miracle they spotted this Italian job!

eublues · 11-11-2004, 01:19 PM

I came INTO phpbb_contact with a dodgy educational set-up in Athens almost certainly on the same game but with a bit more subtlety. No doubt there are 100s of such operations across the EU. Presumably as long as the operation has some sort of real presence so the EU money is buying positive local publicity, the EU spin people couldn't care less about a proportion being syphoned off.

C_steam · 11-11-2004, 07:19 PM

Its happened in this country also - issuing of NVQ's to non-existent students, whilst claiming the funding.

Free UK · 12-11-2004, 12:43 PM

That is nothing compared to the billions of euros fraudulently raided by corrrupt political failures and has-beens in the EU.

Tom Wilde · 13-11-2004, 03:32 PM

From the title of this thread, I thought it might be about Professor Romano Prodi, the outgoing President of the European Commission. But apparently not...

mkpdavies · 13-11-2004, 03:47 PM

No that would have been:

"Useless fat lump led bunch of crooks that took UK Billions"

11-11-2004, 12:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,604	The EU is a soft target thanks to their attitude towards accountancy. Anyone who spots fraud is sacked. It's a miracle they spotted this Italian job! __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

13-11-2004, 03:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,604	No that would have been: "Useless fat lump led bunch of crooks that took UK Billions" __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

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11-11-2004, 01:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,005	I came INTO phpbb_contact with a dodgy educational set-up in Athens almost certainly on the same game but with a bit more subtlety. No doubt there are 100s of such operations across the EU. Presumably as long as the operation has some sort of real presence so the EU money is buying positive local publicity, the EU spin people couldn't care less about a proportion being syphoned off.

11-11-2004, 07:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
C_steam Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Paddling up 5hit creek..... Posts: 7,501	Its happened in this country also - issuing of NVQ's to non-existent students, whilst claiming the funding.

12-11-2004, 12:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
Free UK Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Yeading,Hayes,Middlesex Posts: 39	That is nothing compared to the billions of euros fraudulently raided by corrrupt political failures and has-beens in the EU.

13-11-2004, 03:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tom Wilde Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: London. Posts: 2,771	From the title of this thread, I thought it might be about Professor Romano Prodi, the outgoing President of the European Commission. But apparently not...