The EU anti-fraud office (OLAF) told the Irish Farmers Journal in a statement this Tuesday that it has opened “a selection” into alleged fraud and mismanagement of EU funds and agriculture subsidies in Slovakia.

It has been widely reported that irregularities in the use of EU funds including CAP payments were discovered by murdered Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak, who was investigating ties between Italian mafia and Slovakian businesses at the time of his death.

Mr Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova were found dead last month at his home in Velka Maca, 65km east of the capital, Bratislava.

Seven Italian business men named in Kuciak's report were arrested by Slovakian police but were later released.

Protests

There were widespread protests after the double murder, which resulted in Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico stepping down and eventually being replaced by his deputy prime minister, Peter Pellegrini.

OLAF said that it is "currently assessing all the available information and allegations that have surfaced in the last weeks, in order to establish whether or not the conditions for opening an investigation in accordance with OLAF’s mandate are met".

In a letter written to Nicholas Ilett, acting director general of OLAF, Green MEPs from across Europe expressed their concerns about the misuse of EU agricultural funds, saying: "There is potentially a systemic fraud in the distribution of EU funds and EU agriculture subsidies on the national level in Slovakia."

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