Former European Investment Bank (EIB) president Werner Hoyer is under investigation for corruption, with the German economist saying he is “unconditionally cooperating with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to fully clarify the facts.”
The European Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a statement issued this Monday that it is investigating “two people suspected of corruption, influence peddling, and embezzlement.”
The investigation, which began on an unspecified date this year, sought to lift the immunity of two unidentified EIB officials, but initial information published by various media outlets in Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK and Germany suggested it was Hoyer and another person. former bank employee in Luxembourg.
The case involves allowing Hoyer to pay compensation for terminating a contract with an unidentified employee, revealed the former president’s lawyer Nikolaos Gazeas, who called the allegations against his client “baseless and completely absurd.”
Hoyer, 72, headed the EIB between 2012 and 2023 and was previously a minister representing the liberal Free Democrats Party in coalition governments led by Christian Democrats Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl.
Founded in 1958 and headed by Spaniard Nadia Calviño, the EIB finances projects within the framework of the European Union’s strategic objectives and is the largest multilateral institution financing development projects.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, created in 2021, investigates crimes of fraud, corruption and money laundering affecting the financial interests of the European Union.
Romanian Laura Codrusa Kövesi heads the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, based in Luxembourg.