Fabrice Leggeri, disputed boss of the Frontex agency, has tendered his resignation

The French leader, head of the agency responsible for monitoring the borders of the Schengen area, was the subject of an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office.

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The French boss of the European agency Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, has tendered his resignation, France Télévisions learned on Friday April 29, confirming information from AFP. The proposal for the resignation of this figure of the impermeability of European borders, submitted on Thursday, must still be “reviewed by the board of directors”.

Executive Director of Frontex since 2015, Fabrice Leggeri was targeted by a non-public report in early 2022 from the European Anti-Fraud Office which, according to Pointaccuses him in substance of “not having respected the procedures, having demonstrated disloyalty vis-à-vis the European Union and poor personal management”.

Illegally returned migrants

But this investigation comes against a backdrop of regular accusations, particularly from NGOs in recent years, of practices of illegal refoulement of migrants and complacency towards the Greek authorities, for example, on brutal returns to Turkey.

Again on Wednesday, an investigation by the World and Lighthouse Reports demonstrated that between March 2020 and September 2021, Frontex listed illegal returns of migrants, who arrived in Greek waters, as simple “departure prevention operations, carried out in Turkish waters”.


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