EU Boss Investigated Case Of Alleged Corruption Of COVID-19 Vaccine

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The European Union Prosecutor's Office (EU) has taken over a Belgian investigation into alleged crimes committed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

The European public prosecutor is investigating whether von der Leyen, who will run again as EU boss, is guilty in the alleged case of "mixing public services, destroying SMS, corruption, and conflicts of interest," according to a court file seen by Politico.

The Belgian Attorney General's Office in Liege in early 2023 began the investigation after receiving complaints from local lobbyist Frederic Baldan, who accused von der Leyen of unlawful acts for communicating privately with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla when the pandemic hit in 2021.

As reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Monday, April 1, the European Commission took over responsibility for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union based on a joint procurement scheme and storing vaccine stocks worth more than 20 billion euros (around Rp341.7 trillion).

Politico reported hundreds of millions of unused vaccine doses, causing losses of around 4 billion euros.

Hungary and Poland joined in the Baldan lawsuit, although the Polish government began withdrawing from the lawsuit after pro-EU Donald Tusk became Poland's prime minister in November.

The two countries are reportedly being sued by Pfizer for stopping vaccine deliveries and not making payments on the grounds of overstock.