Three Arrested As EU Diplomatic Arm Raided In Fraud Probe

Police arrested three people Tuesday following raids on EU offices and a prestigious graduate school in a probe into suspected fraud linked to the training of future diplomats, prosecutors said.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said searches were carried out at the College of Europe in the Belgian city of Bruges, and the Brussels premises of the European External Action Service — the EU’s diplomatic wing.

The raids were “part of a probe into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats”, said an EPPO statement, adding that “three suspects were detained.”

Carried out by Belgian federal police at the EPPO’s request, the searches targeted several buildings of the College of Europe and the EEAS, as well as the houses of suspects, prosecutors said.

An EU official confirmed that “raids took place” and said investigators were “looking at activities that happened under previous mandates”.

The EU’s current top diplomat, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, took office a year ago.

At issue, according to the EPPO, is a nine-month training program for junior diplomats across EU member states, known as the European Union Diplomatic Academy.

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The program was awarded by the EEAS to the College of Europe in Belgium in the period 2021-2022, and the probe focuses on whether the tender process was skewed to favour the College of Europe.

“There are strong suspicions that… confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender,” said the EPPO statement.

The EPPO said it had requested and obtained the lifting of the immunity of several suspects prior to the searches.

If confirmed, the allegations “could constitute procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy”, the prosecutor’s office said.

“The investigation is ongoing to clarify the facts and assess whether any criminal offences have occurred,” it added.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the EU, responsible for investigating crimes against the financial interests of the bloc.

The probe is also supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), to which the facts under investigation were first reported.