OLAF

OLAF

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was set up in 1999 to protect the EU’s financial interests and to ensure that the best possible use can be made of EU’s resources

Why OLAF?

commonly known under its French abbreviation OLAF, Office de Lutte Anti-Fraude

What is a fraud?

Fraud is a deliberate act of deception intended for personal gain or to cause a loss to another party.

An irregularity is an act which does not comply with EU rules and which has a potentially negative impact on EU financial interests, but which may be the result of genuine errors committed both by beneficiaries claiming funds and by the authorities responsible for making payments. If an irregularity is committed deliberately,

however, it is fraud. Translate the above into Croatian!

Vocabulary

fraud – prijevara irregularity - nepravilnost deliberate act of deception – namjeran čin obmane to comply with – biti u skladu s genuine error – stvarna pogreška to claim funds – polagati prava na sredstva

Suggested translation

Prijevara je namjeran čin obmane namijenjene za osobnu korist ili koja drugoj strani uzrokuje gubitak.

Nepravilnost je čin koji nije u skladu s pravilima EU-a i koja ima potencijalno negativan utjecaj na financijske interese EU-a, ali koja može biti rezultat stvarnih pogrešaka korisnika koji polažu pravo na sredstva ili tijela nadležnih za izvršavanje uplata. Međutim, nepravilnost počinjena svjesno smatra se prijevarom.

OLAF cannot investigate:

fraud with no financial impact on the EU public funds.

corruption which does not involve Members or staff of EU Institutions and bodies.

fraudulent use of the EU logo or the name of EU institutions.

Report if you suspect…

fraud or other serious irregularities with a potentially negative impact for EU public funds, whether EU revenue, expenditure or assets held by the EU institutions.

serious misconduct by Members or staff of EU Institutions and bodies.

How to report

OLAF can be contacted anonymously.

There are no formalities. Just give as precise and detailed

information as possible. You can communicate with OLAF in

any of the 24 official EU languages.

Results of OLAF’s work

As a result of the 3 500 investigations OLAF has completed since it was set up in 1999:

335 individuals have received prison sentences totalling 900 years

over €1.1 billion of EU money has been recovered (excluding financial penalties)

on average OLAF has recovered €100 million a year.

Results for 2012

€94.5 million recovered for the EU budget

EU Member States courts issued a cumulative 511 years of prison sentences – not including an additional 70 years of suspended sentences

How much does OLAF cost EU tax payers?

OLAF's running costs for 2012 amounted to €57.4 million

OLAF is also providing €21.5 million in grants and project funding to help authorities and organisations fight fraud both inside and outside the EU. 

How many people are involved in fighting fraud in the EU?

EU countries manage 80% of EU funds and have primary responsibility for fighting fraud. They employ most of those involved in this fight for example 500 000 police officers.

OLAF has 435 staff – of which more than two-thirds work on fraud investigations. 

OLAF’s caseload

OLAF had 716 ongoing cases at the end of 2012.

OLAF opened 718 new investigations and closed 465 in 2012.

Average length of an investigation was 17.3 months in 2012.

How much fraud is committed in the EU?

EU countries reported: Expenditure irregularities reported as fraudulent costing €315

million (0.25% of total EU expenditure) in 2012 – compared with €295 million (0.21%) in 2011

Revenue irregularities reported as fraudulent involving €77.6

million (0.42% of the gross amount of traditional own resources collected) for 2012 compared with €109 million (1.24%) for 2011

Translation

Translate the text about OLAF (handout)

Vocabulary

Counterfeiting – krivotvorenje Subsidies – subvencije Independent investigative services – nezavisna

služba za provođenje istražnih postupaka To combat fraud – boriti se protiv prijevara Diversion of funds – zlouporaba sredstava Agricultural expenditure – izdaci za poljoprivredu Fraudulently acquired – na prijevaru pribavljeni

novac Director-General – glavni ravnatelj On-the-spot check – provjera na licu mjesta Civil offences – građanski prekršaji

Thank you for your attention!