European prosecutors conduct raids in four countries in EU funds embezzlement probe

European prosecutors conduct raids in four countries in EU funds embezzlement probe

European investigators launched coordinated searches across four countries, including France, targeting a defunct far-right parliamentary group over the suspected misuse of EU funds.

European prosecutors have carried out raids across multiple countries as part of an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of EU funds by a now-defunct far-right group in the European Parliament. 

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) confirmed to OCCRP on Wednesday that it “conducted investigative measures in France and other European countries as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of EU funds by a former political group of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024.”

The Luxembourg-based prosecutor’s office added that it would not disclose further details “in order not to endanger the outcome of the proceedings.”

French daily Le Monde, which first reported the story, said the raids were underway across France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. The probe centers on suspicions of financial misconduct within the former Identity and Democracy (ID) group. The defunct European Parliament faction’s prominent members included Marine Le Pen’s French far-right National Rally (RN) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was expelled from the group in mid-2024. 

While the prosecutor’s office declined to name the targeted political group or confirm specific raid locations, RN President Jordan Bardella confirmed that investigators had searched the premises of contractors hired by the party. “Since early this morning, searches have been underway at the offices and private homes of communications service providers who have worked with us,” Bardella wrote in a statement on X.

In the same statement, Bardella claimed he had been informed of “the imminent opening of a judicial inquiry concerning me, following a complaint filed by an activist group, regarding a job I held for a few months at the European Parliament… almost 12 years ago.”

“We have nothing to hide, and we will prove it,” Bardella added.

The EPPO launched its formal investigation a year ago in July 2025 following an internal European Parliament audit alleging that ID-affiliated parties improperly spent over 4 million euros (more than $4.5 million) between 2019 and 2024 through inflated and fake contracts and irregular procurement procedures. 

The current investigation echoes a separate case in March 2025, when a French court convicted Le Pen, the RN, and more than 20 associates for misappropriating EU funds. That ruling found that parliamentary funds were improperly siphoned to finance the party’s domestic operations in France.

As part of the verdict, Le Pen was barred from holding political office for five years, effectively preventing her from running in France’s 2027 presidential election. She filed an appeal shortly after the ruling, as her lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said at the time, and is awaiting a verdict scheduled for July 7.