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Brussels: The European parliament tried to avert a formal investigation on Thursday into possible fraud by MEPs worth almost £100 million (Dh740 million) a year.
The report by the parliament's auditor details expenses scams worth up to £125,000 a year for each MEP. The European Union's anti-fraud office, OLAF, has written a letter requesting access to the document, which parliament would have received yesterday.
"We heard about this document on Monday and we were interested straight away," said a source at OLAF. "Now we have had requests from MEPs for OLAF to look into it. We want to see it."
But the parliament said on Thursday that it saw no need for an investigation.
"As the internal auditor's report has not revealed any individual cases of fraud, he has not recommended referring his findings to the EU anti-fraud agency OLAF," it said in a statement.
EU and Parliament officials have tried to play down the internal audit of Parliamentary Assistance Allowances as a dull and complicated "systems analysis".
Chris Davies, a British Liberal Democrat MEP, who has read the report and demanded a full fraud investigation, said the Parliament's stance was "outrageous".
"I have read this report and it is deeply shocking," he said. "The best way to settle this is to publish."
Gordon Brown, on his first visit to Brussels since taking office, intervened in the row to call for openness.
The secrecy surrounding the Parliament faces another test early next week when MEPs respond to a demand from the EU's open information watchdog for the publication of pension perks.
Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Ombudsman is demanding publication of a list naming the 475 MEPs who benefit from a pension scheme worth more than £1,400 a month to MEPs.
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