BRATISLAVA, March 23, (WEBNOVINY) — An unknown offender or a group of offenders is issuing fake decisions on the levying of administrative fees on behalf of the Ministry of Economy to foreign investors interested in participating in EU and government funded projects in Slovakia, as some local media reported on Friday. In this connection, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic informs that unknown scammers are trying to collect fees from businesses for their participation in implementation of public sector projects. „We urge entrepreneurs to maximum caution when communicating with various so-called experts on subsidies and we encourage businesses to verify information through official channels or through the Ministry of Economy and organizations established for that purpose,“ said Economy Minister Juraj Miskov on Friday.
The Ministry of Economy further wishes to point out that general binding rules applicable to the use of public funds do not allow charging any administrative or other fees for the provision of any form of aid, including participation in project implementation. „For these reasons, the department has never issued any official decision that would impose the obligation to pay an administrative fee in this regard to any Slovak and foreign business entity,“ the ministry announced in connection with media reports that several Austrian firms that were allegedly victims of this form of fraud. The Ministry of Economy has already filed a complaint with law enforcement authorities against an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators of this fraud along with related offenses.
SITA