POLITICO has now learned that the €1 million settlement has become central to the investigation. It was seen as “beyond the usual” by the EU’s anti-fraud agency, OLAF, which passed the matter onto the EPPO over potential criminal offenses, according to a person familiar with the case who is not allowed to speak publicly.
The EIB is one of the largest multilateral borrowers and lenders in the world. When Hoyer stepped down he was replaced by Nadia Calviño, a former Spanish economy minister.
Homes searched
Hoyer’s lawyer, Marcel Leeser, told POLITICO the agreement had to be signed by the president under EIB rules but that “he was never involved in the negotiations surrounding the employee’s departure,” and the package was “based on a recommendation by the director general [of] Human Resources and the secretary general.”
The deal, worth €940,000 after tax, allowed von Blumenthal, a deputy dean in the EIB’s philanthropic arm, to leave 34 months before his official retirement. The revelation was first reported by website Follow the Money.
As part of the probe, police in Germany and Luxembourg have searched the homes of Hoyer and von Blumenthal, the person familiar with the case said.
In addition to the payment, which was meant to cover the 34 months of salary before Blumenthal’s retirement, it was also agreed he would receive his pension for three years — meaning that he was getting a double income every month during that period, the person said.
OLAF suspected this was part of a history of previous settlements between von Blumenthal and the EIB and other financial and career advantages, the person said.
