FISHY fakes

THE whistleblower who exposed dodgy dealings in Ireland’s fishing industry still can’t get a licence to go to sea. Maverick mariner Pat Cannon’s wrangle with red-tape has left him driving a taxi at weekends to make ends meet while his fishing boat stays tied up. He’s convinced he’s being victimised by officials after he blew the whistle on so-called illegal catches of ‘black-fish’ being sold to the fish processing industry. His allegations in 2004 sparked a huge investigation resulting in Ireland’s fish quota being cut after a threat of multi-million euro fine by the European Commission. “I’m 99 per cent certain I’m the only boat owner in Ireland who was not allowed to transfer his tonnage from one boat to another,” he stated. He also discovered that his licence to fish had been withdrawn without his knowledge. He found out when a potential buyer for his boat made enquiries. “At the moment my boat is tied up at Killybegs Pier going to loss,” he said.
The County Donegal man, who previously took successful legal action against the Department said that he believes he is being singled out. He added that complaints he made again individual officers have been ignored. Pat stirred up controversy when he wrote to the Irish and Norwegian governments and the European Union about widespread illegal practices. His campaign resulted in a massive Garda operation which saw raids on fish processing factories, boats and offices. A probe into illegal landings in Scotland discovered that more than €40 million worth of illegal Irish fish had been landed there over a four-year period. The Irish government was also forced to accept a cut in the country’s fish quota after an investigation by the EU. On one occasion in 2006 fishery officers found two large boats unloading illegal catches while their tracking systems suggested they were 25 miles out to sea.

EGGSPERT fraud

Egg supplier Pearse Piggott from Galway agreed to his extradition to the UK today over an alleged scam in which eggs from caged birds were passed off as organic or free range. According to the details in the European Arrest Warrant heard in the High Court last month, it was claimed that he'd bought caged eggs from a UK supplier which he then sold back to the same supplier from 2004 to 2007. The alleged transactions involved millions of euro worth of eggs. Read more here.

EURO fraud

IT'S good to see the European Union is still a cash cow for fraudsters everywhere. The EU's anti-fraud office (OLAF) celebrated it's 10th birthday yesterday. Today, however, Bulgarian prosecutors said they have launched probes into "several hundred" suspected fraud cases involving EU farm subsidies. It seems that a number of farmers exaggerated the size of their farms when Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. The amazing shrinking farms of Bulgaria can now join Ireland's 600,000 ghost-sheep, the non-existent olive groves in Greece and the imported 'Parma' ham in Italy. The European Commission last year froze €825 million worth of aid to Bulgaria over fears of fraud and eventually cut it by €220 million
My previous experience of a Bulgarian fraud involved a street currency seller who counted out €10 worth of Lev in front of me, but then palmed off a wad folded paper in a superb demonstration of the scam. It was a cheap lesson.