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Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri
Photo: Joo £ o Silva / imago images / GlobalImagens
The EU anti-fraud agency Olaf is investigating Frontex.
A spokeswoman for the agency confirmed this to SPIEGEL.
Accordingly, the investigation was still ongoing, so the details could not be disclosed.
The investigation should also concern possible misconduct by Frontex boss Fabrice Leggeri.
According to SPIEGEL information, Frontex offices in Warsaw were searched in early December, including apparently Leggeri's office himself. "The matter goes all the way to the top," says a person who is familiar with the process, SPIEGEL.
Olaf is supposed to uncover corruption or fraud in the EU authorities, but also investigates alleged breaches of duty by EU officials and other employees of the EU institutions.
In response to a request from SPIEGEL, Frontex announced that it wanted to cooperate with Olaf.
"Such visits do not necessarily imply wrongdoing," said a spokesman.
The presumption of innocence applies, emphasizes the Olaf spokeswoman.
Leggeri covers Greek crimes
In October, SPIEGEL, together with the media organizations Lighthouse Reports, Bellingcat, the ARD magazine “Report Mainz” and the Japanese television broadcaster tv Asahi, revealed that Frontex was involved in so-called pushbacks in the Aegean.
The European border officials, including German federal police officers, stop refugee boats there before they can reach the Greek islands and hand them over to the Greek coast guard.
The Greek border guards then regularly expose the refugees to the sea.
The pushbacks violate international law - among other things because those seeking protection are not granted access to an asylum procedure.
Internal Frontex reports, which are available to SPIEGEL, show that Leggeri was personally informed of several such incidents.
Among other things, Frontex aircraft had recorded a pushback.
Leggeri initially withheld these and other reports from the European Parliament.
To this day, he claims that despite clear evidence, no human rights violations can be identified.
Social Democrats and leftists in the European Parliament are calling for Leggeri's resignation, the Greens are campaigning for a committee of inquiry, and EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson is also putting pressure on Leggeri.
In addition to Olaf and the Frontex Board of Directors, the EU ombudswoman is also dealing with the allegations.
One of the purposes of your investigation is to clarify whether the internal control mechanisms at Frontex are functioning properly.
On Wednesday, Leggeri will also testify before the Bundestag's interior committee.
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