Brussels In Shock As Ex-EU Diplomat Mogherini Arrested In Tender-Rigging Probe

December 3, 2025 
EurActiv
By Eddy Wax and Elisa Braun

(EurActiv) — Belgian police arrested the EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and senior Commission official Stefano Sannino as part a sweeping fraud investigation that is renewing fears about corruption in the highest ranks of the European bureaucracy.

The arrests came amid dawn raids, first reported by Euractiv, on the EU diplomatic service in Brussels and the College of Europe in Bruges, where Mogherini, who previously served as Italy’s foreign minister, is the rector. The ongoing probe involves alleged misuse of EU funds, according to people familiar with the investigation and witnesses.

In addition to Mogherini, a socialist who headed the EU’s foreign service between 2014 and 2019, and Sannino, a fellow Italian diplomat who heads the Commission’s directorate general for the Middle East and Northern Africa (DG-MENA), a third person, who works in the executive education department of the College of Europe, was also detained.

All three were questioned on suspicion of procurement fraud, corruption, and criminal conflict of interest. Sannino and Mogherini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the EEAS said he had no information.

The criminal probe began after allegations that the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic arm, and the College of Europe colluded to misuse EU public money in 2021 and 2022 to start a new diplomatic academy, according to four people with knowledge of the investigation.



The affair the latest major scandal to hit the EU in the wake of the Huawei and ‘Qatargate‘ investigations and raises serious concerns about the integrity of the senior leadership of the institutions at the core of the European ‘project’.
In Bruges

At the core of the investigation is a suspicion that the College of Europe or its representatives had prior knowledge of a public tender launched by the EEAS to host a new EU diplomatic academy. The tender, which was awarded to the College of Europe in 2022, was open to institutions of higher education across Europe.

Founded in 1949, the College of Europe is regarded as the premier finishing school for aspiring European civil servants, with alumni including top politicians and officials in the European institutions. Though it is closely affiliated with the EU, which helps fund it, the college is nominally independent.

Investigators have focused on the circumstances surrounding the college’s €3.2 million purchase of a building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges, which now houses a dormitory for diplomats who attend the academy, the four people with knowledge of the probe said. The competition to host the academy required bidders to propose plans for housing.

The College of Europe purchased the building in 2022 during a period of financial strain for the institution, two people with knowledge of the probe said. Shortly thereafter, the EEAS awarded the college €654,000 in funding.

Authorities suspect the College of Europe and its representatives had privileged access to confidential information about the tender, giving them an unfair advantage over other bidders. During the period in question, Mogherini was rector of the College of Europe and Sannino, who had worked for Mogherini in the Italian foreign ministry, was secretary-general of the EU’s foreign service, a position that may have given him sway over the tender.

Whatever happened behind the scenes, there’s no doubt that the tender ended in Mogherini’s favour. In addition to running the College of Europe, she now also oversees the new EU Diplomatic Academy, which was launched in 2022. She began a second five-year term in Bruges this year.

During the period under scrutiny, the EEAS was led by another socialist former foreign minister, Spain’s Josep Borrell. Spokespeople for Borrell and the College of Europe declined to comment.
Early morning raids

Tuesday’s police raids, which included private residences, took place across Belgium in the early hours of the morning, with police seizing documents. Around 10 officers dressed in civilian clothes entered the EEAS headquarters at 7:30 am on Tuesday, one eyewitness said. Another EU official from the EU’s diplomatic service confirmed the raid.

Belgian federal police from West Flanders, and the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, took part in the operation as part of a criminal probe led by the EU’s Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

Spokespersons from EPPO and OLAF declined to comment.

OLAF, which has administrative powers to pursue suspected fraud involving EU money, interviewed several individuals before passing its findings to EPPO, tasked with investigating and prosecuting serious crimes against the EU’s interests.

There is no indication that OLAF or EPPO have reached conclusions of wrongdoing, and no one has been formally charged yet.