The Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (Acre), a Tory group co-founded by Brexit-supporting MEP Daniel Hannan, has been ordered to repay €535,609 (circa $605,000 at the current EUR/USD exchange rate) for misspending EU funds.
European parliament leaders convened in a close-door meeting earlier this week following an investigation into Acre’s spending, later notifying the group that it is expected to return the funds, according to a Guardian exclusive.
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Brussels will reportedly issue a formal demand for the money to be returned next week, arguing it was spent on events of “little relevance” to the bloc.
In addition to this, the group will not receive a scheduled €200,000 payment from the union.
Furthermore, the Tory group was also scrutinised for spending €90,000 on a “trade summit” held at a five-star hotel in the Ugandan capital, though UK officials did meet with their African counterparts to discuss post-Brexit trade deals.
Mr. Hannan has been a proponent of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU long before Brexit and dismissed the allegations brought against him as “absurd” and “outrageous.”
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