Cereals: OLAF investigates DG agri Fraud

摘要

Belgian investigators entered one of the European Commission's buildings on October 15 and arrested at least one official on charges of violation of professional secrecy and criminal conspiracy, in connection with alleged fraud on sensitive cereal price information necessary for setting export refunds. Hundreds of French and Dutch police simultaneously raided the offices of two companies, in Paris and Rotterdam, seizing documents and computer files for further examination. In all, two arrests were made in Belgium, and another person was detained for questioning, while at least six people were detained by French police. The seizures were made in co-operation with the EU's Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, which has been investigating suspicions that some ofthe Commission's officials were accepting bribes in exchange for sensitive price information on the grain markets solicited by a number of private sector companies for commercial advantage.