Former EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini was one of three people arrested by Belgian police on Tuesday in a major fraud investigation into funding for the Young Diplomats Training Academy in Bruges, two people familiar with the investigation told Euractic and its partner De Stendhal, European news sites reported.
Belgian police raided EU diplomatic institutions, European universities and private homes as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of EU funds, people familiar with the investigation and witnesses said.
A spokeswoman for the university, where Mogherini has been president since 2020, said she did not know whether she had been arrested and declined to comment further. Mogherini ran the European External Action Service (EEAS) from 2014 to 2019 and has been the director of the academy since 2022.
Another European University employee involved in the executive education department was also detained, the official said.
A top European Commission official, Stefano Sannino, was also detained. Mr. Sannino previously served as EEAS Secretary-General under the Mogherini government during the period when the Diplomatic Academy was established. He is currently Director-General of the European Commission’s Middle East, North Africa and Gulf Division.
The commission confirmed on Tuesday that police were present at the EEAS building as part of an ongoing investigation into activities carried out during a previous mission. The company declined to provide further information as the investigation is ongoing.
MNA