Authorities uncovered irregularities in the Danish-owned Donau farm’s purchase of machinery using EU money, which could cost Slovakia €100 million in fines, according to Euractiv.
Police confirmed they are investigating damage to the EU’s financial interests and have already indicted “several persons” in connection to the farm, located in the South of Slovakia, specialising in producing wheat, soy and oil seeds.
“The ongoing investigation relates to purchasing a piece of agricultural equipment for which our company has duly paid in the past. In this regard, we have provided all information and full cooperation to the law enforcement authorities,” said Donau farm for Denník N.
The investigation was triggered by a 2021 audit by the Agriculture Ministry. The new government, elected in 2020 on an anti-corruption mandate, looked more closely into EU funds given out in 2014-2020 under previous Smer governments.
The investigations started after Slovakia’s biggest corruption scandal, dubbed “Dobytkár”, shone light on millions in bribes and resulted in multiple arrests in the agricultural sector. While trust in the system has been slowly re-building, the government informed in February that it could still end up paying the European Commission €100 million fine for mishandled funds.
The Donau farm news shows that investigations into this time period are far from over. One tactic from the Dobytkár era included ordering unneeded and costly upgrades to agricultural machinery, raising seller profits, but making EU budget use inefficient.
The farm is one of the biggest agri-sector players in the country. Last year, its profits skyrocketed to €14 million amid rising food costs, a Slovak record. It is part of the Danish Donau Agro Group.
