In 2011, the European Commission’s Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) opened a formal investigation for corruption against four Members of European Parliament (MEPs)—Romanian Adrian Severin, Austrian Ernst Strasser, Spaniard Pablo Zalba Bidegain (who was cleared of wrongdoing as he had not accepted payment),[1] and Slovenian Zoran Thaler—after an article in The Sunday Times claimed that they had tried to influence EU legislation in exchange for money.
[2] The Sunday Times journalists went undercover and approached 60 MEPs, posing as lobbyists and requesting votes to table or support certain amendments in exchange for money.
[6] However, in January 2014 Slovenia's own judicial system found Thaler guilty and sentenced him to two and a half years in prison.
[7] Claiming innocence, Adrian Severin has refused to step down and continues to work as an MEP, even after he was expelled by the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group of the European Parliament.
[8] He was indicted by Romania's anti-corruption agency in September 2013 and in February 2016, he was convicted to three and half years in prison in court, although the judgement was appealed.