​ISTANBUL

Three Belgian nationals have been arrested as part of an investigation into alleged corruption at NATO’s Luxembourg-based procurement body, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), local media reported on Monday.

The arrests, which took place in May, are linked to one of three corruption cases that have come to light over the past year at the agency, which manages multi-billion-euro defense contracts on behalf of NATO member states, VRT News reported.

The NSPA, headquartered in Capellen, Luxembourg, employs around 1,500 people and is expected to handle procurement contracts worth €10 billion ($11.6 billion) this year.

According to a joint investigation by Belgian magazine Knack, newspapers Le Soir and Follow the Money, and La Lettre, the three suspects allegedly passed confidential information to defense firms seeking to secure lucrative NATO contracts covering aircraft, helicopters, ammunition and fuel for the 2021-2025 period.

One of those arrested, identified as a 60-year-old ammunition specialist from the Belgian coastal town of Bredene, reportedly worked for the NSPA before founding private consultancy firms.

The other two suspects are former colleagues also accused of involvement in the same scheme, according to journalist Kristof Clerix, who helped uncover the story.

“Suppose you are a defense company and you want to sell to several NATO countries at once, it is best to work through the Luxembourg agency,” Clerix said.

“But if a consultancy firm advising such companies obtains inside information, there is no longer a level playing field. That is what investigators are now trying to determine, whether confidential information was leaked in Luxembourg, and whether Belgians played a role in that.”

Belgian prosecutors confirmed that one of the suspects remains in custody, another is under electronic surveillance, and a third has been released on conditional bail.

The investigation reportedly stalled after the US Department of Justice was informed of the journalists’ findings.

“When we asked the Department of Justice for clarification, our emails went unanswered,” Clerix said, adding that former officials described the silence as “very strange” and suggested “political interference.”
“Does President Trump consider the fight against corruption a lower priority, or is something else at play?” Clerix asked.

“We are going to spend billions on bombs and grenades,” he added. “So it is crucial that taxpayers’ money is spent correctly. If the central agency within NATO responsible for these purchases is in the eye of the storm, that is particularly unfortunate for NATO.”

NATO has not yet issued a public statement regarding the ongoing investigation.