Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini faces corruption accusations in fraud probe

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The European Union’s former foreign policy chief faces corruption accusations alongside two other people arrested this week as part of a fraud investigation, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.

Authorities in Belgium made the arrests on Tuesday after raiding the offices of the EU diplomatic service in Brussels, and a college in Bruges. Federica Mogherini led the EU foreign service from 2014 to 2019 and now serves as the rector of the College of Europe.

The EPPO said in a statement that Mogherini and a senior staff member of the College of Europe were detained at its request, as well as a senior official from the European Commission.

“After being questioned by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police, the three individuals were formally notified of the accusations against them,” the EPPO said. “The accusations concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy. They were released, as they are not considered a flight risk.”

Police searched the properties of suspects, several buildings of the College of Europe, and at the headquarters of the European External Action Service that sits at the center of the 27-nation bloc’s institutions in Brussels, the EPPO said.

The EPPO, an independent public organization of the EU, said it had “strong suspicions” of fraud in awarding a tender for running a 2021 to 2022 training program at the EU Diplomatic Academy for junior diplomats. Former Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell ran the EEAS.