Energy Tribune- Mafia ‘Hits’ EU Wind Subsidies

Energy Tribune- Mafia ‘Hits’ EU Wind Subsidies: "According to the US corporate security consultancy, Kroll, the Mafia and organized crime generally, have been skimming millions of Euros from the EU’s €6 billion ($8.7 billion) clean energy budget since 2007. Originally set up to fund green projects between 2000 and 2013, Kroll has detected increasing fraud and criminal activity, especially over wind subsidies in Italy, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as other parts of central and eastern Europe.
Speaking to Energy Tribune (ET), Jason Wright, a Kroll senior director responsible for conducting due diligence on green energy projects on behalf of legitimate clients, says, “The energy sector has always had a higher level of corruption issues, but EU pressure to meet lower carbon targets has undoubtedly created a gold rush mentality towards EU alternative energy subsidies.”
Investigations have revealed wind scams range from building wind turbines that then stand idle – nothing new in that we might think – to some that stand derelict, with others never being built at all. There is equally evidence to suggest some organized syndicates initially invest only to sell on to unsuspecting legitimate buyers. But it was the spiralling scale of applications that finally alerted for government officials in Italy. Especially as wind farms sprang up across much of the southern part of the country – one of the least windy areas in Europe."