EU bribes claim investigation

The federal prosecutor’s office is investigating claims that Belgian consultancies helped companies pay bribes to win contracts worth millions of euro from the European Union. The consultancies are thought to have used Frenchbased lobbyists to pay bribes to gain important inside information on forthcoming contract offers in order to give their clients an unfair advantage. The investigation is thought to have started last year, and involve the federal prosecutor, the Central Anti-Corruption Service, the EU’s own anti-fraud office Olaf, and French magistrates.

A major part of the contracts concerned reconstruction aid to former East bloc countries including Ukraine. Competing bidders are thought to have raised the alarm when the same consortium of Belgian consultants repeatedly succeeded in engaging the best local contractors before the contract terms were even officially known, as well as preparing the best bid documents. All public contracts in the EU above a certain value have to be opened up to public tender, with the procedures strictly laid out to make competition as fair as possible.

(September 23, 2024)