Brussels, 20/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European anti-fraud office (OLAF) announced, on 19 March, that it had passed on the same day to the Spanish judicial and administrative authorities, as well as to Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, to the Directorate General for Agriculture in the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee its report on the suspected irregularities or fraud in European subsidies for the production of flax in Spain (see EUROPE of 10 February, p.10 and 15 March, pages 12 and 13). OLAF underlines in a Communiqué that any comment on its behalf concerning the investigation would be in breach of the law.
OLAF recalls in its Communiqué that, following information from the Spanish press on this issue, it had contacted the Spanish authorities concerned, as of 17 June 1999, and that the Spanish Anti-Corruption Public Prosecutor had opened an investigation into the case. At the same time OLAF had opened an external investigation and, last 9 February, it had found that irregularities in this area extended out to other Member States.