Former EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini arrested in fraud probe
Two other people, including a senior official of the Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, were arrested in Brussels on Tuesday as part of these investigations.
Federica Mogherini
Federica Mogherini, former European Union foreign policy chief, was detained Tuesday in Belgium as part of a fraud investigation into the alleged misuse of European funds, according to a source familiar with the case who spoke to AFP.
"Today searches are being carried out at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels as part of an investigation into alleged fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats, led by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Brussels. Three suspects were arrested," the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) detailed in a statement.
Mogherini currently heads the College of Europe in Bruges. The investigation seeks to clarify suspicions of favoritism in the awarding to this center of a training program by the EU diplomatic service, of which she was head between 2014 and 2019.
The program under investigation
"The investigation focuses on whether the College of Europe and/or its representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria of the tender procedure and had sufficient reason to believe that they would be awarded the implementation of the project, prior to the official publication by the EEAS of the tender notice," the prosecution said.
In this regard, the prosecution indicated that there are strong suspicions that, during the program's bidding process, Article 169 of the Financial Regulations concerning fair competition was violated and that confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender.
Two other people, including a senior official at the Commission, the EU's executive arm, were arrested in Brussels this Tuesday as part of those investigations, AFP's source said.
In that regard, the prosecutor's office detailed that following its request, with the approval of the investigating judge, the Federal Police (FGP of West Flanders) conducted searches in several buildings of the College of Europe in Bruges, in the European External Action Service in Brussels and in the homes of the suspects. The investigative proceedings were also supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
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