This is an unusual case, assesses professor of financial management at Aalborg University Per Nikolaj Bukh.
– What makes the case unusual is, as such, not the size of the amounts. It is that it is very elongated.
– As far back as 2005, internal notes were made in which it was assessed that it was doubtful that one was checking correctly.
It is uncertain how much money may have been defrauded.
There is a ceiling which states that each farm can receive a maximum of a certain amount annually in support.
But the criticism is that by splitting his agriculture into several parts, the farmer has been able to circumvent the ceiling.
– It’s even an area that does not have to be so complicated. There are registers of who owns companies, says Per Nikolaj Bukh.
– So when a farmer applies for support, you can simply look up which companies this farmer otherwise owns and then see if these companies also apply for support. You choose not to do that, and that makes this case so unusual, he says.
The criticism is also directed at former Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Esben Lunde Larsen, who allegedly approved an administrative basis that did not ensure proper control.
It is also mentioned that the agricultural organization, Agriculture & Food, has put some pressure on the agency.
– It is not unusual for an interest organization such as Agriculture & Food to want the rules to be interpreted in a certain way that is in the favor of their members.
– Then it is similar to the agency’s task to ensure that you comply with the rules and do not bend them to meet the wishes of the industry, says Per Nikolaj Bukh.
According to Per Nikolaj Bukh, whether there will be a criminal aftermath is difficult to assess on the present basis.
– It is difficult to see if anyone has deliberately broken the rules. This is something that must be investigated independently via the Chamber Advocate, he says.
The professor estimates that the board must now start looking at cases where too much support may have been paid out and demand that the money be paid back.
After that, Denmark will probably send the money back to the EU, where a large part of the agricultural support comes from.
Source: The Nordic Page