EU’s militarization becomes ‘magnet for criminals’ — newspaper

BRUSSELS: The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is recording a growing number of criminal schemes in the defense sector amid Europe’s accele...

BRUSSELS: The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is recording a growing number of criminal schemes in the defense sector amid Europe’s accelerated militarization, the agency’s chief Petr Klement told The Financial Times.

According to him, OLAF is receiving an increasing number of reports of irregularities in the defense sector, particularly in research projects and procurement. "Huge sums being invested in European rearmament are attracting fraudsters," Klement said.

The newspaper emphasized that the agency is investigating fraud and irregularities related to the EU’s general budget, which member states use to fund an increasing number of defense projects. These cases are linked to a 500-million-euro EU project to ramp up ammunition production, the 150-billion-euro EU SAFE militarization programs, and the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP) with a budget of 1.5 billion euros for 2025-2027.

Klement declined to comment on the progress of investigations into specific cases, stating that they involve manipulation of public tenders, inflated prices, cronyism, and corruption.

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