Multiple countries have launched corruption investigations into the US-led alliance’s procurement system
Lithuanian soldiers raise the NATO flag in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, on March 29, 2024. © Yerchak Yauhen / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images
Police have conducted arrests and searches in several countries as part of a corruption investigation into current and former employees of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
The raids, coordinated by Eurojust – the EU’s criminal justice agency – took place in Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the US. The alliance told Luxembourg Times on Wednesday that NSPA’s main headquarters in the Grand Duchy had initiated the probe.
“NATO – including the NSPA – is working closely with law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice,” spokeswoman Allison Hart said. “We are actively strengthening our ability to mitigate risks and root out misconduct,” she added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that the military bloc was working with the authorities. “We want to get to the root of this,” Rutte said.
Read more
The public prosecutor’s office in Luxembourg said that documents had been seized pertaining to suspicions that NSPA staffers had “used their positions to enrich themselves.”
Two people were arrested in Belgium and three in the Netherlands, officials said. Belgian prosecutors stated that the investigation centers around “possible irregularities in awarding contracts to defense contractors for the purchase of military equipment for NATO such as ammunition and drones.” The probe is also investigating the possible sharing of confidential information by NSPA employees with defense companies and money laundering.
Authorities in the Netherlands have said they arrested a former official with the Dutch Defense Ministry at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on Monday. The former civil servant is suspected of taking bribes in 2023 related to the awarding of defense contracts.
The investigation takes place as NATO members are looking for ways to boost their own defense and produce more weapons to be delivered to Ukraine. In March, the European Commission unveiled a plan to raise €800 billion ($896 billion) to “rearm” the EU.
