Former head of the EU foreign affairs department Federica Mogherini was detained on Tuesday during police raids as part of a fraud investigation.
Federica Mogherini, the former High Representative of the European Union, has been detained during police raids as part of a fraud investigation. This has been reported by Belgian media.
Mogherini was among three suspects taken into custody on Tuesday morning after Belgian authorities conducted searches at the offices of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the College of Europe in Bruges, and several private homes.
Her name was revealed by the newspapers L'Echo and Le Soir, citing sources.
According to Le Soir, the second detainee is Stefano Sannino, the former Secretary-General of the EEAS and current Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf Countries (DG MENA).
Euronews confirmed the identities of both detainees.
The third detainee is reportedly a manager at the College of Europe.
A representative of the College of Europe confirmed to Euronews that searches did indeed take place but declined to comment on whether Mogherini was among those detained.
From 2014 to 2019, Mogherini served as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, leading the European External Action Service (EEAS) — the bloc's diplomatic arm. Since September 2020, she has been the rector of the College of Europe, a prestigious university funded by the EU.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) confirmed the police presence at its headquarters in Brussels.
Tuesday's raids were conducted at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which is investigating alleged fraud related to an EU-funded project.
In a statement, the EPPO said that the investigation focuses on the European Union's Diplomatic Academy — a nine-month training program for young diplomats that was awarded to the College of Europe in Belgium as part of an EU tender for the period from 2021 to 2022.
Authorities are investigating whether the European External Action Service (EEAS) violated tender rules by providing information to the College before the project grant was awarded.
"We can confirm that police were in the EEAS building today," said an EEAS representative on Tuesday afternoon, clarifying that the ongoing investigation relates to activities that took place during the previous mandate.
The representative declined to comment on whether EU officials were among those detained. The arrests occurred after their immunity was lifted, the European Public Prosecutor's Office stated, indicating the high rank of the detainees.
In its statement, the prosecutor's office explained that there are "serious suspicions" of violations of European rules on fair competition during the tender and that "confidential information related to ongoing procurements was passed to one of the candidates participating in the tender."
These facts "may constitute procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, and breach of professional secrecy," the European Public Prosecutor's Office stated. "The investigation continues to clarify the circumstances and assess the existence of any criminal offenses."
Belgian police declined to comment.
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