As former head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer is being investigated for corruption, the German economist said he was “cooperating without reservation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to fully clarify the facts”. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a statement on Monday that an investigation was ongoing involving “two people suspected of corruption, influence peddling and fraud”. The immunity of two unidentified EIB officials was waived in the investigation, which began on an unspecified date this year, but was first reported by various media outlets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain and Germany to Hoyer and a former employee of the bank in Luxembourg.
The former president’s attorney, Nicolas Gazias, characterized the allegations against his client as “baseless and completely absurd,” including Hoyer’s authorization to pay compensation for terminating the contract of an unidentified employee.
Hoyer, 72, headed the EIB between 2012 and 2023, having previously been a minister representing the liberal Free Democrats in coalition governments led by Christian Democrats Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl.
The EIB, founded in 1958 and chaired by Spaniard Nadia Calvino, 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 fraud, corruption and money laundering crimes involving the EU’s financial interests.
Romanian Cotruda Coveci heads the Luxembourg-based European Public Prosecutor’s Office.