Three people were detained after EU offices and a prestigious college were raided in a fraud investigation linked to a multi-million euro diplomatic training contract.
BRUSSELS: Three people were arrested on Tuesday following raids on the European Union’s diplomatic service and a prestigious graduate school.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said the searches were part of a fraud probe into EU-funded training for junior diplomats.
Belgian federal police raided the College of Europe in Bruges and the Brussels offices of the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Searches also targeted several suspect residences, according to prosecutors.
An EU official confirmed the raids were examining “activities that happened under previous mandates”.
The EU’s current top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, took office one year ago.
The investigation centres on a nine-month training programme for junior diplomats known as the European Union Diplomatic Academy.
The EEAS awarded the contract for the programme to the College of Europe for the 2021-2022 period.
“There are strong suspicions that… confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender,” the EPPO stated.
Prosecutors said the probe focuses on whether the tender process was improperly skewed to favour the college.
If confirmed, the allegations could constitute procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy.
The EPPO said it had obtained the lifting of immunity for several suspects prior to the searches.
“The investigation is ongoing to clarify the facts and assess whether any criminal offences have occurred,” it added.
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is supporting the investigation, having first received the report of the suspected misconduct.
The EPPO is the independent EU prosecution office responsible for crimes against the bloc’s financial interests.
