New report shows 'value for money' of EU anti-fraud agency

Olaf, the much-maligned EU agency, last year recovered over €200 million as part of its fight against corruption and fraud, a new report shows.

The agency has been heavily criticised in the past by MEPs and others for being a waste of money and ineffectual in investigating alleged fraud.

But the sum recovered during its operations in the past 12 months represents “considerable benefit” to EU taxpayers, according to Olaf’s latest report on its activities.

“The figures and the cases in the report show clearly how seriously irregularities, fraud and corruption are being taken by Olaf and by the European institutions in general,” said Olaf director general Franz-Hermann Brüner.

Speaking in Brussels, where he presented the report, he said, “These figures also demonstrate that the joint action of Olaf and its operational partners in the member states, third countries and international organisations must continue."

Brüner added: “It is very important for Olaf’s success that in our task of protecting the EU’s financial interests against fraud, corruption, smuggling and other criminal acts we can continue to build on the close cooperation of the law enforcement agencies in the member states and beyond.”

At the end of 2007, the agency had 408 cases under investigation, ranging from a crumbling bridge built with substandard materials using EU money; plagiarism in an EU research project; tomato importers evading customs duties; and a retired official trying to increase his pension by illegal means.

Bruner said these were just a few examples demonstrating the “large variety” of cases in which the agency was actively engaged. 

At the end of the year, Olaf was also investigating 70 cases of alleged irregularities within the EU institutions and various EU agencies -17 per cent of its total workload.

Its overall caseload has risen from 529 in 2002 to a new high of 886 in 2007, said the report.

"While the preventive effect of our work cannot be measured in figures, in 2007 a sum exceeding €200m was recorded as [having been] recovered following closed Olaf cases," it says.

During the past year, the report said Olaf had pursued a new strategy, focusing on "bigger and more complex" fraud cases.

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