Brussels, 28/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office announced on Wednesday 28 March that a European Commission official (from external service section of DG External Relations), the assistant of an MEP and a businessman - all three Italian - had been charged and remanded in custody (see EUROPE 9395). The three, who all live in Belgium, are suspected of having misused procedures for the award of public contracts for buildings to house Commission delegations in third countries, and to install security equipment in these buildings. The case refers to events carried out under the Romano Prodi Commission. The Commission informed OLAF about the matter “before November 2004, following a complaint from a third party,” a Commission source said.
“We are talking about contracts worth tens of millions of euro, over a period of more than ten years. So, even a bribe of ten per cent works out at millions of euro. This is a major corruption case,” said the Brussels Prosecutor's Office spokesman Jos Colpin. The Commission official arrested is 46 years old and works in the “external service” section of DG External Relations. The second person charged, aged 60, is the personal assistant of an Italian MEP. The third, a businessman aged 39, heads a consortium in the property sector. At this stage, EUROPE prefers not to reveal identities. According to Italian daily La Repubblica, the Parliamentary assistant arrested is the owner of a Potenza-based company, which was involved in the construction of EU representations, probably in India and Albania. (lc)