The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that an investigation has been opened into a senior official at the European Commission accused of receiving gifts from Qatar.
The prosecution announced the investigation into Henrik Hololei, an Estonian man who was the former Director-General for Transport at the European Commission.
The investigation was launched following a report by the French newspaper Libération, which stated that he gave confidential information to Qatar Airways, the Emirate's airline, in exchange for luxury holidays and gifts for himself and his family worth tens of thousands of euros.
He provided information concerning the European Union's (EU) position during the negotiations of the so-called ‘open skies’ agreement, for which he was responsible, between 2016 and 2019. This would give Qatar Airways free access to all EU airports from 2021, a generous agreement with no real compensation for European airlines, Libération reported.
Failure to report
The case of alleged corruption, unprecedented at this level of authority, was the subject of a report by the bloc's Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf).
However, neither the European Public Prosecutor's Office nor the Belgian criminal justice system – competent to deal with this type of case – were contacted by the Commission, even though it has been aware of the case for months and EU institutions must report any criminal behaviour under its jurisdiction.
The Commission, questioned on Thursday, asserted it acted quickly on the Hololei case, with the Olaf investigation concluded in July 2024 and a recommendation for disciplinary follow-up. A spokesperson added that Hololei will be questioned in the current stage of the process.
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This case adds to the "Qatargate" scandal, which has rocked the European Parliament since December 2022, involving corruption allegations against Qatar and Morocco.
Hololei stepped down from his Director-General position in 2023 for a less strategic role as a political "advisor" following initial revelations of alleged corruption.
