The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched an official investigation into the EU’s fraudulent Covid-19 vaccine purchases, according to a Politico report.
EPPO, an independent EU body, is responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering and corruption. In a recent announcement, the body confirmed it is investigating the potentially corrupt deal between Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and EU President von der Leyen.
Summit.news reports: “This exceptional confirmation comes after the extremely high public interest. No further details will be made public at this stage,” said the EPPO.
Last month, the European Court of Auditors published the aforementioned report in which it said the Commission refused transparency regarding details of von der Leyen’s personal role in the Pfizer contract.
In it, the budget watchdog found that the EU chief went rogue in order to personally hammer out a preliminary deal with Pfizer, instead of relying on joint negotiating teams. While the Commission has been forthcoming with other vaccine contracts, it has refused to provide the court with any documents regarding those preliminary negotiations.
According to Belgian Socialist MEP Kathleen van Brempt, “several aspects” of the Pfizer contract should be investigated, including “the text messages between the Commission President and the fact that there is no paper trail of the preliminary negotiations in first instance.”
According to Politico, “The MEP chairs the European Parliament’s special committee on COVID-19,” adding that both the EU’s ombudsman and a member of the European Court of Auditors have made appearances before the panel.
“The [COVID-19] committee will be following this case with great attention,” said Van Brempt.
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