Belgian Police Raid European Commission Offices in Criminal Probe Over €900 Million Building Sale

Belgian federal police raided European Commission offices in Brussels on Thursday in what amounts to the most significant criminal investigation into the EU executive in recent memory. The early-morning operation, led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, concerns alleged irregularities in the 2024 sale of 23 Commission buildings to the Belgian state for approximately €900 million .

The searches, which took place at multiple Commission locations including the budget department, represent an extraordinary legal intrusion into the heart of EU governance . Police officers entered the premises before regular working hours, according to sources familiar with the operation cited by the Financial Times, which first reported the raids . The European Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it was conducting evidence-collecting activities in an ongoing investigation but declined to share further details, citing the need to protect the integrity of proceedings .

The property transaction at the centre of the probe involved 23 buildings sold by the European Commission to the Belgian sovereign wealth fund, known as the SFPIM (Societe Federale de Participations et d’Investissement, or the Federal Participation and Investment Company) . The deal, valued at approximately €900 million — roughly $1.07 billion at current exchange rates — was executed as the Commission downsized its vast office portfolio in Brussels, primarily because more staff were working remotely in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic .

The Commission had at the time characterised the sale as a straightforward consolidation of its real estate holdings. The SFPIM planned to renovate the acquired properties and return them to the market as commercial and residential real estate, part of a broader effort to redevelop underused office space in the EU quarter of Brussels . At the time of the transaction, the Commission stated that the sale had been tendered in full compliance with EU financial regulations.

According to the Financial Times, the Cyprus Mail, and Euronews reporting, the investigation is linked to the tenure of Johannes Hahn, the Austrian politician who served as EU Budget Commissioner from 2019 to 2024 under European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen . The budget portfolio carried direct responsibility for the Commission’s property management and financial operations, placing the building sale squarely within Hahn’s remit during his time in office. Hahn previously held the regional policy portfolio under presidents Jose Manuel Barroso and Jean-Claude Juncker from 2010 to 2019, making him one of the longest-serving commissioners in EU history. In May 2025, he was appointed as the Commission’s special envoy for the Cyprus problem. It remains unclear whether Hahn himself is a target of the investigation, a person of interest, or merely a witness.

The European Commission has firmly pushed back against any suggestion of wrongdoing. A spokesperson stated that the institution is aware of the ongoing EPPO investigation and insisted that the sale of the buildings followed established procedures and protocols . The spokesperson expressed confidence that the process was conducted in a compliant manner and pledged the Commission’s full cooperation with both EPPO and the competent Belgian authorities .

In a more detailed statement provided to Politico EU, the spokesperson added that the European Commission is committed to transparency and accountability and will provide any information and assistance needed to ensure a thorough and independent investigation into this matter . The tone of the response suggested the Commission views the probe as a procedural inquiry rather than evidence of systemic failure, though the scale of the police operation — involving searches at multiple premises — implies investigators believe there may be substantive evidence to collect.

The EPPO is an independent EU body that became operational in June 2021, tasked with investigating and prosecuting crimes that affect the financial interests of the European Union. Its mandate covers fraud, corruption, money laundering, and other offences involving EU funds. The office operates across 24 EU member states with delegated European prosecutors in each participating country. Its involvement in the Commission building investigation signals that prosecutors believe the transaction may have caused financial harm to the EU budget — an allegation that, if substantiated, could have far-reaching political ramifications .

EPPO spokesperson Tine Hollevoet confirmed the evidence-collecting activities but cautioned that nothing further could be shared in order not to endanger the ongoing procedures and their outcome . Belgian police declined to comment on the operation. The Belgian prosecutor’s office and the SFPIM did not immediately respond to requests for comment .

The raids come at a politically sensitive moment for the European Commission, which has faced mounting scrutiny over its institutional governance and financial management in recent years. Critics of the EU executive have long argued that the Commission’s property portfolio — one of the largest in Brussels, spanning dozens of buildings across the European quarter — lacks adequate independent oversight. The Commission’s real estate operations have periodically drawn attention from the European Court of Auditors, which has previously flagged concerns about the transparency of property transactions and the adequacy of valuation processes.

The €900 million price tag for 23 buildings has itself attracted questions from some EU budget watchers, who have noted that Brussels commercial real estate values fluctuated significantly during the pandemic period when the deal was negotiated. Whether the buildings were sold at fair market value or at a discount beneficial to the Belgian state fund is likely to be a central question in the EPPO investigation.

The EPPO’s willingness to conduct physical searches at Commission premises sends a powerful institutional signal. Since its establishment, the office has primarily focused on cross-border VAT fraud and misuse of EU structural funds at the national level. A raid on the Commission itself represents a significant escalation in the EPPO’s enforcement activities and demonstrates the office’s independence from the very institutions that created it.

If the investigation uncovers evidence of fraud, corruption, or financial mismanagement in the building sale, it could trigger wider political consequences, including difficult questions about accountability within the previous von der Leyen Commission and the adequacy of internal controls. For now, the probe remains in its early stages, with all parties maintaining that the transaction was lawful and investigators gathering evidence to determine whether that claim holds up under scrutiny.