Police in NATO countries have conducted a series of arrests and searches across multiple nations as part of a corruption investigation involving current and former employees of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
These raids are ongoing and are conducted by Eurojust—the EU’s criminal justice agency—and have taken place in Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the US. The alliance told reporters that the NPSA’s main headquarters in the Grand Duchy had begun the investigation.
“NATO—including the NSPA—is working closely with law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice,” spokeswoman Allison Hart said. “We are actively strengthening our ability to mitigate risks and root out misconduct,” she added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that the military bloc was working with the authorities. “We want to get to the root of this corruption scandal,” Rutte said.
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor’s office in Luxembourg said that documents were seized about suspicions that NSPA staffers had “used their positions to enrich themselves.”
Officials said they have so far arrested two people in Belgium and three more in the Netherlands as raids continue on Friday.
Belgian prosecutors stated that the investigation centres on “possible irregularities in awarding contracts to defence contractors for the purchase of military equipment for NATO, such as ammunition and drones.”
The probe also looks at possible sharing of confidential information by NSPA employees with defence companies and money laundering.
The case is already attracting eyeballs from the members’ states, with fears that several high-ranking officials might also be involved in the scandal.
The Dutch authorities said they arrested a former official with the Dutch Defence Ministry at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on Monday.
The former civil servant is suspected of taking bribes in 2023 regarding the awarding of defence contracts.
The investigation takes place as NATO members are looking for ways to boost their own defence and produce more weapons to be delivered to Ukraine.
In March, the European Commission unveiled a plan to raise €800 billion ($896 billion) to “rearm” the EU.
While the organisation is also facing pressure from the Donald Trump administration over their spending pattern and amount as a contribution to the alliance, which allegedly has made the US president unhappy.
