Five arrested in Norway as Eurojust-backed probe targets fraud on NATO ship services
Norwegian authorities detained five suspects in the Bergen area on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, while searches ran in Romania and Germany. Eurojust estimates losses to NATO member states at more than one million euros.
The operation
Police and prosecutors in several countries carried out coordinated searches and arrests on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, in an anti-fraud case involving a company that supplies services to NATO military ships. Eurojust, the EU agency for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, coordinated the action. Authorities in Norway, Romania and Germany took part, and the United Kingdom joined through its prosecutors and the Ministry of Defence Police. The case began in April 2025, when the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) noticed suspected fraudulent receipts linked to services provided on land to crews of NATO warships visiting ports in north-western Europe.
What investigators allege
The company and its subcontractors are suspected of submitting false invoices for husbandry services, the logistical and organisational support given to military ships and their crews during port calls. Eurojust puts the losses to NATO member states at more than one million euros, but the exact sum is still under investigation. The allegations also include bribery of foreign public officials, carried out through an intermediary to secure favourable treatment in contract dealings with the NSPA. Romanian prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) are investigating suspected tax evasion, fraud and money laundering by a commercial company and its representatives. One Romanian report described the sum as more than one million dollars, while Eurojust and other outlets gave euros.
Searches and arrests
In Norway, five suspects were detained in the Bergen area, and homes and business premises were searched, according to a statement from the Norwegian Criminal Investigation Department. Økokrim, the Norwegian authority for economic and environmental crime, said the Bergen suspects are accused of serious fraud. In Romania, the DNA searched three locations in Constanța county, covering the homes of several individuals and the headquarters of a company. In Germany, Hamburg police searched two companies and one flat, and the Romanian statement says the German searches were carried out under a European investigation order.
Prosecutors' comments
Marianne Bender, chief prosecutor at Økokrim, said the inquiry will take time because the charges cover several years and a large number of ship port calls. She said rising defence budgets increase the risk of economic crime, and that authorities would act strictly if NATO had been defrauded. The DNA has said it will release further details when procedural circumstances allow.
What remains open
The total amount of the alleged fraud has not been established, and the sources give no timeline for charges in any of the countries involved. Investigators have not yet confirmed how the alleged bribes were paid or to which officials.