NATO corruption scandal in arms trade.
A European investigative group consisting of the media outlets Le Soir, Canac, La Lettre, and the platform Follow the Money published the results of a joint investigation last night that revealed widespread bribery and corruption in NATO.
Radio France wrote in a report: Some arrests were made in the spring of 2025, but the legal prosecution of the offenders in the United States was canceled without explanation. However, the judicial authorities of Belgium and the Netherlands have both opened legal proceedings for active and passive corruption in arms contracts. The military alliance’s public contracts and tenders through a logistics services agency are also at the center of the scandal.
The report states: On May 12 and 13, individuals were prosecuted and even arrested in six NATO member countries, including Spain, Italy and even in Switzerland.
Two Greeks working for a Romanian group with contracts for the US and British navies, two employees of the Belgian and Dutch defense ministries, the head of a Turkish munitions company, and a former American military officer specializing in munitions at a NATO agency were all among the suspects.
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is based in Luxembourg and one of its functions is to help 32 member states of the alliance with the “procurement, operation and maintenance of weapons systems.” The agency raised the alarm about irregularities that triggered investigations in Belgium and then in the United States and the Netherlands.
The Brussels Today website also reported on the Belgian defendants in the case: A former Belgian NATO official has been arrested in connection with a wide-ranging corruption scandal. According to the investigation, two other Belgians are also believed to be involved.