Ep86. The Rawlinson Affair — From EULEX to Mogherini’s Arrest

Ep86. The Rawlinson Affair — From EULEX to Mogherini’s Arrest

From Spionpodden by Mikael Hylin

March 22, 2026 · 1h 18m · Season 7 · Episode 86

About this episode

The episode explores the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Michael Rawlinson, a Swedish intelligence officer investigating corruption within the EULEX mission in Kosovo.

Continuing from Ep26 - Ep33. Michael Rawlinson, a Swedish undercover intelligence officer inside the EU’s largest rule-of-law mission began investigating corruption at the highest levels. Soon after, he was dead. Years later, the questions refuse to disappear. What really happened to him? Inside EULEX — the European Union’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo — the official mandate was clear: fight corruption, organised crime, and abuse of power. But what happens when suspicions of corruption begin to surface inside the mission itself? Why were certain investigations suddenly halted? Why were sensitive names never spoken publicly? Why did Rawlinson himself believe something inside the system had gone terribly wrong? One of the voices in this episode is not an outside observer. From inside the mission, Mats Mattsson, former Head of the Executive Division at EULEX, witnessed events that would later raise difficult questions about the mission, its leadership, and the political structures surrounding it. Questions that reach far beyond Kosovo. Questions that today touch the highest levels of European politics — including the office of the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs…

People in this episode

Host: Mikael Hylin

Guest: Mats Mattsson

Topics covered

  • corruption
  • intelligence
  • EU politics
  • EULEX mission
  • investigation
  • Mogherini
  • Rawlinson case

Keywords

  • Michael Rawlinson
  • EULEX
  • corruption
  • Mats Mattsson
  • Federica Mogherini
  • Kosovo
  • intelligence officer
  • EU politics
  • investigation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EULEX, European Union, EU Rule of Law Mission

Places: Kosovo

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