On 14 October 2026, police in Germany, Norway and Romania carried out coordinated searches and arrests as part of an investigation into possible bribery and invoice fraud. The case concerns the provision of services to NATO military vessels. The operation was coordinated by Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.
In Norway, in the Bergen area, five people were arrested — Norwegian citizens linked to a single company. They have been charged with aggravated fraud (or complicity in it) against the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). According to investigators, the company inflated invoices for services provided to NATO ships in Norwegian ports between 2021 and 2025. The preliminary damage is estimated at more than €1 million (around $1.1 million).
In Germany, Hamburg police searched two companies and one private residence. In Romania, searches were conducted at a company premises and several private homes (Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate — DNA — is involved in the case).
According to Eurojust, the case concerns so-called husbandry services — logistical and organisational services for supplying military vessels and their crews during port calls in north-western Europe. The company and its subcontractors are suspected of submitting inflated or fictitious invoices. Investigators are also looking into the possible bribery of foreign public officials through an intermediary to obtain advantages in contracts with NSPA.
Marianne Bender, a senior public prosecutor at Norway’s National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, said: “Defence budgets are increasing worldwide, which raises the risk of economic crime. This is an area we are monitoring closely. If NATO has been defrauded, there will be a tough response.”
The investigation is at an early stage. Eurojust became involved in the case in April 2025 after NSPA identified suspicious invoices. In addition to Norway, Romania and Germany, other countries, including the United Kingdom, participated in the joint investigation team. Norwegian authorities have signed an information-sharing agreement with NSPA to help detect and prevent similar crimes.
