EIT Manufacturing knowledge community declares bankruptcy after EU fraud probe found "irregularities"

EIT Manufacturing, a “Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC)” managed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), has gone into liquidation.

The organisation, one of ten KICs meant to help develop research results into marketable products, declared bankruptcy on 25/03/2026, according to media reports.

The move follows a decision by the EU to suspend payments to the KIC and recover funds it had already received, following an investigation by the Union’s anti-fraud office, OLAF.

OLAF produced a report in late 2024, which found “irregularities” relating to EIT Manufacturing. The EIT says it took “immediate actions” to protect EU funds.

In December 2025, OLAF issued a second report to the EIT, which set out “further irregularities” at EIT Manufacturing. The EIT reviewed the situation in March 2026 and decided to stop providing funding to EIT Manufacturing until the relevant legal procedures had been completed and the required conditions fulfilled, EIT said in a statement.

Until then, the KIC has the possibility to continue its activities with its own funding raised…