PLD: Government confirms that millions of euros from the budget have been wasted on fictitious expenses for years

The Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) says the government has finally acknowledged that millions of euros have been taken from the state budget over the years and used for fictitious expenses.

According to the PLD, its continuous warnings have now been proven correct. The party considers the disclosure of more than 4,500 fraudulent social assistance beneficiaries—including deceased people, individuals expelled from their homes and fictitious persons—a bitter fact. According to publicly released data, the scheme caused €25 million in annual damage to the budget.

The PLD says this case represents only a small part of the misuse of public funds that weighs on citizens. “What we have loudly denounced all this time has now been confirmed: we were right then, and we are right now,” the party said in its response.

The party questions how much public money is lost every year on fictitious positions, unnecessary officials and party privileges, if as much as €25 million a year can be saved from social payments alone. In this context, the PLD also asks about the cost of phantom positions, such as Fetai’s in Brussels, as well as the expenses related to the army of deputy ministers and deputy directors, whom it describes as unnecessary and “voiceless puppets,” but who receive high salaries and use luxurious offices and official vehicles.

The PLD also demands to know how many millions of euros are spent on fictitious jobs in the public administration, where, it claims, people are paid to drink coffee instead of simplifying and digitizing the administration.

The party’s message to the government is to focus on the sectors where, according to the PLD, the looting of public funds is being supported and protected. This, it says, would constitute a genuine reform, while focusing solely on social assistance cannot be considered reform./Telegrafi/