The EU’s former foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has been charged along with two others in a probe into “fraud and corruption” over contracts to train future European diplomats.
“The three individuals were formally notified of the accusations against them,” said a statement Wednesday from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) a day after their detention in Brussels. “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,” the prosecutors’ office added.
Mogherini, who was high representative for foreign affairs from 2014 to 2019, now leads the College of Europe graduate school whose premises were searched along with the offices of the EEAS diplomatic service.
The 52-year-old Italian was arrested in Brussels along with the training school’s deputy head, and Stefano Sannino, a senior EU official who was EEAS secretary general from 2021 to 2024, according to a source close to the matter.
They can be held in custody for up to 48 hours, before a potential appearance before a magistrate.
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