Former EU foreign policy chief Mogherini charged with corruption, freed pending trial

Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was released after being formally notified of charges in an ongoing investigation into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said on Wednesday.

The former top diplomat faces corruption charges alongside two others arrested as part of a fraud investigation.

At the request of EPPO in Brussels, Mogherini, along with a senior staff member of the College of Europe in Bruges and a senior European Commission official, was detained by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police on Tuesday.

After questioning, all individuals were formally informed of the accusations, which concern procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, and violation of professional secrecy, a statement said.

They were released on Wednesday after detention, as they are not considered flight risks.

EPPO stressed that the investigation is continuing, no further details can be released to avoid jeopardising its outcome, and that all individuals involved are presumed innocent until proven guilty before the competent Belgian courts.

EPPO is an independent EU prosecution office responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes affecting the financial interests of the bloc.

Mogherini, who was the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2019, now leads the College of Europe graduate school, whose premises were searched.

The 52-year-old Italian was arrested in Brussels along with the training school's deputy head and Stefano Sannino, a senior EU official who was EEAS secretary general from 2021 to 2024, according to a source close to the matter.

The EU's current top diplomat, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, took over the post a year ago from Mogherini's successor, Josep Borrell.