Representatives of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out searches on the morning of 21 October in the offices of staff from the far-right Patriots group in the European Parliament.
The investigative actions are taking place as part of an inquiry into allegations of mismanagement of funds by the now-defunct Identity and Democracy group, Politico reports.
Last year, the European Parliament’s financial department found that the group had improperly used €4.3 million between 2019 and 2024 through questionable donations and public tenders. On the basis of these reports, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which investigates financial crimes against the EU budget, opened its own investigation.
Jean-Paul Garraud, head of the French National Rally party in the European Parliament, confirmed that searches have been under way since early morning in the Strasbourg European Parliament building in the offices of staff from the former ID group. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed the searches. According to the outlet’s sources, investigators arrived at the group’s secretariat premises.
When the ID group dissolved in 2024, most of its members moved to the newly formed Patriots group. This also included MEPs from France’s National Rally, Austria’s Freedom Party, Hungary’s Fidesz, Spain’s Vox, Belgium’s Vlaams Belang and the Czech party ANO 2011.
In a statement, the Patriots stressed that they have no legal connection to ID and are not involved in the ongoing investigations.
The European Parliament allocates funds each year to political groups for administrative and operational expenses. Prosecutors are examining whether the ID group made questionable donations to regional organisations in several EU countries and whether it breached tender rules when awarding contracts to friendly companies.
In 2025, the financial department had already ordered the Patriots group to repay almost €277,000, which it had improperly used in the second half of 2024 due to similar breaches in tender procedures.