By Anne-France White - 27th March 2007
Over 30 dawn raids have been carried out in European commission offices in four countries as part of a large-scale corruption inquiry.
European commission headquarters, banks, offices and homes were searched in a dawn raid in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Italy.
The raids were carried out by 150 officers, as part of a three-year investigation into European commission security and building contracts worth millions of euros.
Police are looking into possible links to organised crime, fraud, forgery, bribery of civil servants and breaches of public procurement laws – two Italian MEPs are reported to be at the centre of the investigation.
The premises raided included the European commission's Berlaymont offices and the office of a member of the European parliament in Brussels.
At least three people were arrested after the raid, according to press reports.
The EU’s anti-fraud office Olaf is involved in the investigation, as are the Italian Carabinieri, the French financial police and Belgian fraud officers.
“Until the end of the inquiry and facts are established, presumption of innocence must prevail,” a commission spokesman said.
The affair brings with it memories of the infamous 1999 corruption scandal which eventually forced the entire European commission to step down.
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