(CN) - The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) should not have transmitted incriminating information on 42 public officials without giving them a chance to respond, the Civil Service Tribunal ruled.
The Joint Research Centre conducted an internal investigation of its Ispra (Italy) location on the suspicion that its high number of accidents could not be happening at such a relatively small site.
Forty-two officials declared at least nine accidents each from 1986 to 2003.
OLAF sent this information to a prosecutor, and the defendants were not informed of the allegations for a year.
"The (officials) should have, in principle, have been informed and heard regarding the facts concerning them before the note was sent to the Italian judicial authorities," the tribunal ruled.
The court chose to annual OLAF's decision and ordered OLAF to pay 3,000 euros to each of the officials.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.