Former EU foreign policy chief arrested in corruption probe

Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (Virginia Mayo/AP)

The European Union’s former foreign policy chief faces corruption accusations alongside two other people arrested this week as part of a fraud investigation, prosecutors said on Wednesday, in the latest scandal to hit the 27-nation bloc.

The arrest of Federica Mogherini, who led the EU foreign service from 2014 to 2019, risked tarnishing the EU’s international image just as it seeks to assert influence in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The EU has been urging Ukraine to tackle rampant corruption.