The Federal Internal Audit Office (FIA) has refused to investigate the Federal Government's emergency purchase of anti-drone weapons.
The €50 million purchase in question, which has followed the hurried adoption of an anti-drone plan late last year, came under scrutiny after a critical report aired on VRT’s investigative programme Pano.
In response, Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) promised an independent inquiry, pledging "total transparency" regarding potential irregularities.
However, the public service audit refused the request, not feeling sufficiently qualified for handling military procurement files, De Morgen reported on Monday.
In a response sent by email to the newspaper, the head of the service, Kathleen Meganck, simply confirmed that the FIA "deemed it unable to respond favourably to the request from the Ministry of Defence," without specifying the reasons for this decision.
The FIA can refuse a request "when the nature of the mission and the workload it entails" are not manageable for the service.
Following the Pano report, the Flemish socialists Vooruit announced they would block the Federal Government's new military purchases until an audit shed light on the circumstances of the controversial procurements.
