Former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli denies corruption allegations and says he resigned under pressure from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Dalli, who was in charge of an anti-smoking directive strongly opposed by the tobacco industry, had been under investigation by the European anti-fraud agency OLAF.
He says he will fight to clear his name. "It should be noted that the report stated that there is no proof at all that I was involved in any misdeeds", he said.
But OLAF, which conducted the review, says Dalli knew what was happening.
"We know on the basis of all the pieces of evidence, circumstantial evidence that we have gathered during the investigation from different sources, from using different, completely different, several kind of investigative tools or diverse means.", Giovanni Kessler, General Director of OLAF told Euronews.
The investigation was launched after tobacco firm Swedish Match alleged that an individual claimed he could use his connection to Dalli to influence legislation.
Source: Euronews
