Dougal Watt, the whistleblower who went public with his allegations of corruption at the heart of the European Court of Auditors has been sacked.
According to reports in the Glasgow Herald, Watt was informed on Thursday in a letter from Court Secretary General Michel Herve that his “infractions” were so great that he deserved more that just demotion from his accounting position.
The British whistleblower was suspended without pay from his post last year after publicly alleging “systematic corruption and abuse in the European Court of Auditors.”
Despite being supported by around 40 per cent of court staff in a secret ballot following his allegations, he faced a court disciplinary hearing for breaching staff regulations of confidentiality.
Watt was told yesterday by Herve that his sacking was “appropriate.”
News of his dismissal followed shortly after European Commission vice-President, Neil Kinnock announced a major investigation into the extent of fraud within the European Commission.
Watt’s allegations, however, are not related to the latest fraud scandal to rock the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, where it was discovered that millions of euro were siphoned into secret bank accounts.
Watt, who claimed that systematic fraud and mafia links were being covered up by powerful figures in Brussels, has joined an ever-growing handful of other whistleblowers who have been suspended or demoted or have left voluntarily over the past few years.
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