TYPES OF ELIGIBLE ACTIONS 2019

BUDGET 11

COMMIT 12

%

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (min. 70%)

11 741 200

12 062 616

103

Grants: Cigarettes and Investigation support

Grants

9 866 200

10 901 200

110

IT Databases

Procurement

1 350 000

666 442

49

IT Tools and tobacco analysis

Procurement

525 000

494 974

94

ANTI-FRAUD TRAINING (max. 25%)

4 150 000 

3 719 865

90

Grants: Anti-fraud training

Grants

1 100 000

605 056

55

Procured conferences

Procurement

1 000 000

952 460

95

Digital Forensics Training sessions

Procurement

1 550 000

1 730 273

112

Grants: Legal Training and Studies

Grants

500 000

432 076

86

TOTAL 2019

15 891 200

15 782 481

99.32

Two sessions of the Digital Forensic and Analyst Training were organised by OLAF in 2019, improving the detection, collection and analysis skills of staff in charge of extracting and using data from digital devices. The first session took place in September 2019 in Seville (Spain) and was attended by 116 trainees. Courses such as “advanced Windows forensic examiner” and “access data forensics” were held. The second session was organised in November 2019 in Malaga (Spain) with 117 participants and included, among others, an “advanced forensic” course and an “operational analysis” training. The trainees originated from all 28 Member States, 3 candidate countries and 5 third countries, coming from various public organisations such as Police, Customs, Ministries, etc.

The Agency for Agricultural Payments from the Region of Venice, Italy (AVEPA) organised four staff exchanges gathering a total of 79 participants representing AVEPA (Veneto Region, Italy), the National Paying Agency (NPA) under the Ministry of Agriculture of Lithuania, the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (ARIB) of Estonia, and the Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) of Austria - as well as other related institutions (e.g. relevant ministries).

The four staff exchanges took place in Vilnius (Lithuania), Tartu (Estonia), Vienna (Austria) and Padua (Italy).

Competent authorities in the participating countries/regions exchanged experiences and best practices and shared knowledge to better identify risks of irregularities and fraud in private and public procurement.

Partners collaborated to produce a collection of contributions entitled “Strengthening Actions to Fight Fraud in Procurement - Private and public procurement procedures: some practical solutions for Paying Agencies to get more value for money and reduce irregularity and fraud risks”. The volume provides a targeted summary of effective measures taken by the participating agencies. It contributes to:

- Increasing the awareness of the paying agencies’ staff on specific issues related to the fight against fraud and irregularities in public and private procurement;

- Developing the theme of public and private procurement from a "value for money" perspective;

- Sharing tested solutions to common problems.

The activities and results of the project were published on the institutional website of the beneficiary. The beneficiary reported that all conference materials, a description of the project and results were sent to the EU paying agencies and were also disseminated via its social media channels. The project was presented to the directors of the European Paying Agencies during an annual meeting in Bucharest where representatives of the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors participated as speakers.

The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) implemented a staff exchange program with the participation of six Member States’ counterpart administrations (Slovakia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania).

After a kick-off meeting where representatives discussed technical aspects and expectations, and created a staff-exchange coordination group, the NTCA organised six one-month staff exchanges between May 2018 and January 2019. With each staff exchange, two officers from another EU Member State came to a sensitive external EU border crossing point of Hungary.

Officers from the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic, the National Customs Agency of Bulgaria, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Lithuania, the National Revenue Administration of the Republic of Poland and the National Agency for Fiscal Administration of Romania attended. The focus of the event was the control tasks of the NTCA Tax and Customs Directorate with special attention paid to searches of cargo and passenger traffic. Participants reviewed methods and techniques, expanded their knowledge and shared experience. During the closing meeting, 34 participants evaluated the results of the action and selected the most successful and effective control techniques to formulate a set of new best practices.

The action contributed to the following improvements in the fight against fraud cigarettes smuggling and counterfeiting:

- The customs officers developed working relationships, exchanged their experience on risk analysis, selection for control, and searching techniques applied to cargo and passenger traffic;

- The participants became familiar with Hungarian control procedures and best practice;

- All participants had the opportunity to implement the newly acquired skills in their own country. In particular, the search experts working at external EU borders of the six participating Member States defined new risk profiles in order to filter cigarette smuggling;

- The exchange of information between the participants developed more effective detection procedures;

- During the action, the participants controlled 877 vehicles and detected and seized 19 466 packets of cigarettes for a value of more than EUR 65 000. Together with the cigarettes, the participants seized other illegal goods for a similar value (cash, amber stones, alcoholic beverages, pesticide).

The National Fiscal Administration Agency of Romania (N.A.F.A) reported on its grant for detection equipment aimed at curtailing cigarette smuggling and illicit cross-border trafficking of goods. The equipment purchased includes two detection kits with density scanners and digital cameras, portable x-ray systems and portable endoscopes. Training for the mobile team customs officials from various locations in Romania took place. The use of the equipment leads to increased efficacy combatting the trafficking of illegal goods and diminishing the black market of cigarettes while improving the security of the EU’s external border. The equipment reduces the control time of minibuses, coaches and railway carriages where the dismantling of large panels is required.

The Regional Police Headquarter in Olsztyn, Poland, purchased a mobile intelligence centre. The equipment, designed to detect criminal networks involved in illicit cigarette and tobacco smuggling, increases the investigative capabilities of the beneficiary. Ensuring data collection from the mobile network supports operations and permits the gathering of data for criminal proceedings and the identification of smuggling routes across Poland and the external border of the EU. The identification of suspects and their locations in remote areas is greatly enhanced using this unit. At the time of the first reporting period, the mobile unit had been used in 27 operations and also in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies in the region of Olsztyn.

The State Forensic Examination Office of Latvia purchased spectrometry tools and an ultra performance chromatography system designed to facilitate forensic examinations of documents and inks. Thirty-seven experts from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia attended trainings carried out by experts from France and Germany. Cooperation with experts from France and Poland has also been established to reinforce skills. The beneficiary reports that its analytical capacity has been enhanced and that its ability to provide high quality forensic evidence for financial and economic crime investigations has been significantly reinforced. It is able to provide better services to various law enforcement institutions including the police, prosecutor’s office, border guard offices and the state revenue service. The equipment is instrumental in cases involving illicit trade and smuggling of tobacco products.

A mobile X-Ray unit was purchased by the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic. This unit allows for non-intrusive inspection of road and train transported goods. Twenty customs officers attended the expert training course to learn how to operate the scanner and how to interpret images. This unit will assist in the detection of illicit and smuggled goods and will facilitate fast and effective inspections. The aim is to detect smuggled tobacco and cigarettes in small shipments transported by cars, lorries, buses and planes. The mobile unit can be deployed throughout the country supporting enforcement units. Crossborder cooperation will be enhanced mainly with Germany and Poland. Results and best practices will be shared with the Customs Detection Technology Project Group to enhance international cooperation.

The Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia reported on the outcomes from the purchase of a mobile x-ray scanner mainly used in the port of Rijeka and the surrounding motorway and border crossing. The equipment aims to strengthen its operational and technical capacity to detect smuggled and counterfeited goods, in particular cigarettes and tobacco, imported into the European Union resulting in the evasion of VAT, customs duties and excise taxes. The scanner has improved the efficiency of customs controls resulting in significant seizures including more than 3 million cigarettes. The beneficiary reported overall in the 12-month period, a collection of EUR 590 000 in import duties, evaded VAT and excise taxes and penalties.

The Maritime Unit of Border Guard in Gdansk, Poland reported on the results of its purchase of mobile x-ray scanners type ‘Mini-Z’. These devices improved detection ability during checks on cargo ships, fishing vessels and other watercraft. The portable size of the scanners permits effective controls in closed and inaccessible spaces. The gathering of evidence for criminal proceedings has also improved. The report outlines various controls carried out on passenger cars, merchant vessels and recreational vehicles. 33 maritime border guard officers were trained and certified and a further 24 officers from Szinoujscie and Elblag were trained. Cigarette seizures amount to 7 420 pieces and 768 packs during the reporting period; other seized items including ammunition were also reported.

The purchase of technical updates for an Automated Number Plate Recognition System (ANPRS) for nine patrol cars for the Customs Department of the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania has led to 60 pre-trial investigations involving the smuggling of cigarettes. The replacement of computers for the system has improved its funtioning and data flow, and is now linked to a system used by the Polish customs. The system is also integrated with those of the Baltic countries. 19 stationary ANPRS check points operate at the borders with Lithuania, 7 internal and 12 external. 16 workplaces were were upgraded and 1 400 users have been trained to analyse the data stored. This integrated system enables data exchange among the 75 regional check points installed at the external borders with Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine. The reporting period of 2018 – first quarter of 2019 indicates that 170 million cigarettes were seized for a value of EUR 26 million, or EUR 19.5 million in losses to the national budget.

The Member State customs services use a commercial database of worldwide trade statistics to analyse trade flows (imports and exports) as part of a risk analysis system. In general, Member States use the database for strategic and/or initial analysis to gain an overview of the movement of goods at a world level and focus on specific goods or countries of interest. This enables them to decide what action to take in cases of suspicion of potential customs fraud.

Specifically, it has been used primarily to assist identification of traffic diversions or transhipment of goods, which are being moved via an intermediate third country to disguise the real origin of goods imported into the EU, usually to avoid anti-dumping duty or to evade a prohibition/restriction. In addition, it provides the basis to cross-check information on exports from third countries with information on imports into a Member State from other sources.

These statistics are used to compare values leading to the identification of possible undervaluation of goods to avoid or diminish import duties. Customs services consult the database to create risk profiles for specific countries/products. Preparatory analyses for a recent joint customs operation were conducted using this database.

Member States' customs authorities use a database on vessel information and movements, in combination with other databases, to support risk analysis and targeting of commercial vessel traffic. It is regularly used to check the actual routes of vessels in order to cross-verify the origin of the goods in containers, for instance, when fraud is detected in anti-dumping and/or countervailing duties evasion. The database is also used in the customs clearance phase in order to detect potentially suspicious cases of import transactions. Moreover, the database was used for monitoring vessels transporting cargo containers directed to the EU customs territory for risky shipments, including smuggling of tobacco products.

A database with information on companies has also contributed to investigations led by Member States' customs authorities related to fraud affecting the financial interests of the EU. In one instance, a Member State customs service was able to perform a mapping of companies and their managers within the country and abroad, by querying the database to obtain information to expand fraud risk analysis capabilities, formulating new profiles to target controls. In another instance, searches were run on a company's shareholders to determine whether company's imports were the result of an intra-group sale and to analyse risks of undervaluation. This database was also used to investigate a case of international tax evasion and unlawful capital transfers to tax havens. Furthermore, with the help of the database, it was possible to establish potential customs debt for suspected import consignments using customs procedure 42 (which allows importers to obtain a VAT import exemption, when goods imported from outside the EU into one Member State are subsequently transported to another Member State) to evade customs duties and VAT.

The Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT) is an IT tool developed by the JRC and available to Member States’ customs services. The AMT can be used to determine the risk thresholds for customs value. Several Member States use these estimates and the related price anomalies of specific products or origins, for their integration in the national risk profile systems, in some cases by combining estimates of EU average product prices with the results of their customs controls. It is used in the detection of undervaluation of imported goods, especially textiles and footwear. The scale of undervaluation has decreased in those Member States using the AMT, thereby reducing the level of losses to the EU and Member States' budgets in customs duties, excises and VAT. The use of the AMT tool has considerably increased in 2019: the tool received more than 80 000 data queries from almost 600 customs officers.

The AMT tool is also used in support of joint customs operations: for example, a recent operation was conducted by customs authorities of 25 Member States and OLAF covering a wide range of textiles and footwear goods and other goods imported from one third country in the EU. The operation is on-going and results will be reported later this year.

Two Member States are carrying out pilot activities with the JRC, as an extension of the AMT tool, using the Newcomb-Benford’s law analysis on traders in annual audit plans, to improve the quality of results and the definition of the risk profiles. The research relies on the application of the Benford law which uses the observation of the distribution of the first digits of numbers in large databases with customs declarations to detect suspicious traders. The approach mainly aims at the detection of serial fraudsters, for which information accumulates in the corresponding transaction records. The findings from the application of Benford’s methodology can be the basis for further investigative work if coupled with additional information from the AMT tool or the national risk profiles.

The INTEL4CUSTAF project aims to provide knowledge, facilitate and support the work of customs in Member States for the effective and efficient use of data and analytical approaches in the area of customs anti-fraud. The project has created an EU community in the field of customs anti-fraud data analysis (totalling 150 members from Member States and the Commission).

In 2019, five pilots of INTEL4CUSTAF brought together 44 experts from 18 Member States and colleagues from JRC and OLAF. The objective of the pilot project on undervaluation aimed to investigate the potential for signal generation, bringing together the results generated by the Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT) with those from customs controls performed by the Member States. It revealed variations among the approaches followed by Member States to estimate the risk thresholds for customs value. These findings generated strong interest during the 3rd INTEL4CUSTAF workshop, culminating in a proposal to continue this work in 2020.

During 2019, the e-commerce pilot project focused on the detection of customs sensitive e-traders. E-commerce is a new priority in the fight against fraud affecting the Union budget, and this pilot is a first step aimed at automatically detecting importers of goods destined to be sold to individual customers through e-commerce platforms and fulfilment centres, with a high risk of customs and tax fraud. Experts from participating Member States discussed the definition of a customs sensitive e-trader and shared knowledge and experience of typical e-commerce fraud modus operandi as well as associated customs data.

The pilot project on misdescription of goods fraud aimed at developing a tool for the automated detection of misdescribed commodity codes as declared when goods are imported into the EU. The tool, based on national methods, provides the flexibility to perform analysis at country and EU level, thus helping to fight transnational customs fraud. A proto-type open-source analytical software was developed and is available for further testing. The project analysed about 130 000 declarations and generated 2 000 signals of potential fraud.

The aim of the container weight pilot was to study the feasibility of using a statistics model for the prediction of an estimated container weight. Comparing differences between this estimated weight, the real weight (as measured before loading) and the declared weight could potentially identify fraud such as under or over-valuation and wrong description of goods. Testing of this innovative idea during 2019 was hampered by problems in obtaining good quality data. However, several Member States stated that they should be able to provide the required information and many supported the continuation of this novel analysis in 2020.

A further pilot project built on the work started in 2018, to develop a search case for the automated monitoring and sharing of international on-line media for reporting illicit tobacco cases, using the existing Europe Media Monitor (EMM) tool. Drawing on the wider INTEL4CUSTAF community, 350 new, customs-relevant, sources of information and many new key words/phrases were added to cover the emerging fraud area of water-pipe tobacco. This pilot generated a new proposal: to test the application of text mining for the validation of commodity descriptions in customs declarations.

The laboratory for testing tobacco (TOBLAB) at the JRC-Geel facility has been operational since April 2016 and is regularly used by Member States' customs services and OLAF. The laboratory carries out analyses on samples of seized cigarettes and tobacco to identify the geographical origin of tobacco. On the basis of the results obtained it is possible to identify the origin, the producer and commercial brands. The analytical methods applied allow the identification of counterfeit tobacco products and can contribute to forensic investigations aiming to, for example, dismantle criminal networks. TOBLAB aims to develop intelligence on cheap whites as well as onraw and cut tobacco. In order to provide information about the geographical origin of seized raw tobacco, TOBLAB aims to construct a repository of raw tobacco grown in Europe including different production regions and varieties in a region.

The JRC maintains and updates a database with information on the chemical composition and origin of seized smuggled and counterfeit tobacco and tobacco products submitted by the customs services. In 2019, 115 samples of seized cigarettes, raw and fine cut tobacco were analysed. It was possible to identify cigarettes that had been smuggled into the European market and to establish connections between raw tobacco, fine cut tobacco and cheap white cigarettes seized in different places and at different moments within the EU, by connecting seizures to each other. The information obtained from the analyses allowed tobacco investigators to share intelligence on on-going investigations.

A repository of commercially available cigarettes purchased at licensed tobacconists across the world and of cheap whites is maintained by JRC for building statistical discrimination models.

The 5th annual workshop with representatives of national customs laboratories and enforcement staff from 14 Member States, held in JRC-Geel in 2019, facilitated knowledge sharing and cooperation between Member State experts and the Commission.

University of Luxembourg received a grant under the “Legal training and studies” call for proposals to conduct a comparative research titled “Admissibility of OLAF final reports as evidence in criminal proceedings”. The project compared the national approaches to the admissibility as evidence of administrative reports, in particular OLAF's, in criminal cases. It also looked at the topic from a wider EU perspective - by discussing relevant European standards and principles.

The project produced a set of policy recommendations, as well as seven national reports of participant Member States (Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and United Kingdom), two transversal reports ("EU administrative investigations and the use of their results as evidence in national punitive proceedings" and "Lawful and fair use of evidence from a European Human Rights perspective"), and one comparative report.

The impact of the project can be summarised as follows:

- Increasing knowledge and awareness of rules, procedures, and problems related to the admissibility of OLAF reports in national proceedings;

- Encouraging both national authorities and OLAF to develop virtuous practices to ensure that OLAF investigations and their outcomes are duly valued and taken into account by domestic law enforcement authorities and courts;

- Considering the OLAF-EPPO relationship and its impact on the admissibility of OLAF collected evidence.

All the project's outputs are included in an online free-access version made available: (https://orbilu.uni.lu/bitstream/10993/40141/1/ADCRIM_final_report.pdf). The results were widely disseminated through the online platform of the University of Luxembourg (Open Repository and Bibliography Platform: http://orbilu.uni.lu/), the website and the social media accounts of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (https://wwwen.uni.lu/fdef), as well as presented in various conferences and events.

The Programme continued funding the publication of “eucrim – The European Criminal Law Associations’ Forum", which was published in four issues during 2019 by the German Max Planck Institute in Germany. The periodical addressed current developments in the European criminal law, such as the implementation of the European Public Prosecutor Office, the Commission’s new anti-fraud strategy, or the EU judicial cooperation with third countries. Each issue was printed in two thousands copies and distributed to universities, libraries, courts, law enforcement authorities and individual subscribers. The articles were also published on the internet, free of charge 27 .

The Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate received funding for the project “Promoting the protection of the financial interests of the EU by supporting the actions of the Member States and the European institutions in the transition towards the EPPO”, aimed to support to Romania and other Member States in the process of preparing the transition to a functional EPPO. The project included a study analysing the impact of the future EPPO on the Romanian judicial system, a national workshop (Bucharest, November 2018) and a European conference (Bucharest, December 2018) on the relation between the national prosecutorial systems and the EPPO and between the national authorities and OLAF, EUROJUST and EPPO. A hundred professionals from EU national prosecution offices, judges and academics, members of the Network of Associations for European Criminal Law and the Protection of the Financial Interests of the European Union, as well as representatives of OLAF and EUROJUST, participated in the final event, sharing experiences, challenges and solutions on how the national systems should prepare themselves for the establishment of the EPPO. The study and conference results were disseminated among the professionals from 23 Member States participating in the closing event.

MS

Beneficiary

Title and description

Awarded grant (EUR)

Co-fin %

1

BE

Service Public Federal Finances

Purchase, installation and maintenance of one mobile backscatter vehicle

930 441

80

2

HR

Ministry of Finance

Mobile backscatter cargo and vehicle screening system

873 600

70

3

CZ

Customs Administration of the Czech Republic

A mobile X-ray unit for detection of smuggled and/or counterfeited goods transported in luggage and parcels through aerodromes

252 000

80

4

IE

The Revenue Commissioner

Procurement of mobile x-ray container scanner

1 734 720

80

5

IT

Ministry of Economy and Finance/Guardia di Finanza

Purchase of 1 MINI-Class Aircraft System for the fight against counterfeiting and smuggling tobacco products

635 383

70

6

IT

Ministry of Economy and Finance/Italian AFCOS

Anti-fraud Integrated Platform

501 672

80

7

LV

State Revenue Service

Development of Automated Number Plate Recognition System (ANPRS)

1 793 039

80

8

LV

National Forensic Bureau

Operational capacity building of forensic examination of tobacco and other plant-based substances

407 821

80

9

LT

Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior

Purchase of investigation tools

102 818

80

10

PL

National Tax Administration

Purchase of a technical equipment for Department for Combating Economic Crime of National Revenue Administration

305 215

80

11

PL

Tax Administration Chamber in Lublin

Strengthening the operational capacity of Mobile Control Units in combating cigarettes smuggling and financial fraud at EU Eastern border – Purchase of a mobile scanner

1 090 379

80

12

RO

The National Anticorruption Directorate

Supporting the operational capacity of the National Anticorruption Directorate in investigating frauds against the EU funds

474 109

80

13

SK

Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic

Improving customs surveillance and trade facilitation at the border crossing points

1 800 000

80

TOTAL

10 901 199

78.5

MS

Beneficiary

Title

Amount paid (EUR)

Amount paid as % to initial commit-ment 31

1

LT

State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Sate Border Guard Service's activity against tobacco smuggling

79 016

100

2

SI

Ministry of the Interior

Technical Assistance for mobile ANPR and the setting up of an Advanced Investigation Platform (AIP)

324 899

71

3

LT

Customs Criminal Service

Development of Criminal Intelligence Technical Tools

483 347

100

4

RO

Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism

Improved special investigation methods in tackling high-profile OCG smuggling at the EU Eastern border

398 893

95

5

RO

Brasov County Police Inspectorate

Fraud investigation in Brasov County with digital forensic hard and software

103 484

98

6

LT

Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior

Procurement of intelligence equipment

80 393

78

7

CZ

Customs Administration of the Czech Republic

Mobile X-Ray unit for inspection of personal luggage and parcels transported in road, train and air transport

246 278

100

8

RO

The National Anticorruption Directorate

Improving the Capacity of the National Anticorruption Directorate in investigating fraud and corruption detrimental to the financial interests of the EU

252 604

97

9

PL

Provincial Police Headquarters in Olsztyn

Improving the effectiveness of detection and combating tobacco crime, corruption and financial fraud to the detriment of the EU by equipping the Warmian-Masurian Police with a mobile intelligence centre

458 956

99

10

RO

National Agency for Fiscal Administration

Increasing the role of mobile teams in preventing and combating smuggling and customs fraud

220 067

69

11

IE

The Revenue Commissioners

Procurement of mobile back scatter X-Ray scanning van

515 057

100

12

RO

Anticorruption General Directorate

Raising Efficiency of action to fight Against Corruption Threat and any type of Fraud

101 939

88

13

LV

National Forensic Bureau

Operational capacity building of the forensic document examination

557 078

99

14

NL

The National Police Of The Netherlands

TSO Innovative Self Healing Operational Network

445 912

97

TOTAL

4 267 928

Name

Content

Commitment in Euro

1

IHS Maritime Portal

Information on ship movements

227 554

2

GTA

Trade statistics data

188 888

3

ORBIS

Basic company information and financial details of companies all over the world

250 000

Total committed under the 2019 budget

666 442

MS

Beneficiary

Title

Awarded grant (EUR)

Co-fin %

1

LT

Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania

Strengthening law enforcement analytical capacities in Big Data Analysis to prevent and detect fraud and corruption affecting EU financial interests

38 140

80

2

IT

Court of Auditors/ Italian AFCOS

Cooperation Agreements and Training on Objectives and New Experiences

63 314

80

3

IT

European Institute for Socio-Economic Development Association

European Neighbourhood Policy & EU enlargement training & cooperation

56 737

80

4

RO

Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism

Developing the working procedures and skills of prosecutors and specialists regarding special investigation techniques and data extraction and analysis through exchange of staff and training with other EU border countries.

36 709

80

5

IT

Customs agency

E-commerce tools and potential risks for customs fraud

101 952

80

6

LT

Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior

Training course towards more effective cross-border cooperation against fraud affecting the financial interests

39 292

80

7

PL

National Tax Administration

Mutual actions to fight frauds in order to protect EU financial interests

54 017

80

8

HU

Transparency International Hungary

New European antifraud landscape in Hungary: challenges and missed opportunities

57 306

80

9

RO

Dolj County Police Inspectorate

Raising awareness and improving working methods of the actors involved in the fight against fraud trough intra-Community acquisitions affecting the EU budget

81 683

80

10

SK

Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic

Training focused on fight against VAT fraud for goods imported into the EU

75 899

80

TOTAL

605 056

80

Dates

Conference title

Location

N° of participants

Amount paid EUR

19-21 June 2019

PIF : Cooperation between OLAF, law enforcement and prosecution services

La Hulpe

158

147 141

9-12 September 2019

24th Task Group Cigarettes (TGC)

Zagreb

99

40 914

16 September 2019

Workshop on the Future of the Network of PIF Associations

Brussels

31

33 361*

18-20 September 2019

AFCOS Seminar 2019

Skopje

85

33 434

26-27 September 2019

JCO HYGIEA-Debriefing Meeting

Rome

43

41 588

10-11 October 2019

Briefing and training - JCO SNAKE II

Brussels

45

88 067*

14-15 November 2019

High Level Conference on Customs Challenges in the Antifraud Area

Helsinki

87

94 805

19 November 2019

Pilot project related to Transhipment fraud on dangerous goods

Bangkok

15

23 548

23-24 January 2020

Fight against the smuggling of Refrigerant Gas, including counterfeit & banned products, in the EU

Brussels

81

67 298

* Amount committed, as no final invoices were received at the date of publication of this document

TOTAL

644

448 731

1.

MS

Beneficiary

Title

Amount paid (EUR)

Amount paid as % to initial commit-ment 32

1

CZ

Transparency International - Czech Republic

Clean contraction in the European Funds

32 129

72

2

HR

Ministry of Finance

Further strengthening of the competent institutions in the area of managing on irregularities with the aim of protection of EU financial interests

47 201

71

3

IT

Ministry of Economy and Finance/Guardia di Finanza/Italian AFCOS

Cooperation Project 2

80 943

84

4

IT

Foundation Lelio E Lisli Basso

International Conference on Enhanced Cooperation for the Establishment of the EPPO.

56 607

87

5

IT

European Institute For Socio-Economic Development Association

EU Funded actions: detecting, handling, and learning how to prevent frauds and irregularities in international cooperation and development projects (IPA and ENI)

78 778

86

6

IT

Veneto Agency For Agricultural Payments

Strengthening actions to fight fraud in procurement

67 994

99

7

HU

National Tax and Customs

Anti-cigarette smuggling staff exchange program

45 237

53

8

HU

Transparency International - Hungary

Exchange of expertise in identifying fraud risks to protect EU financial interests

38 055

94

9

RO

National Agency for Fiscal Administration

Improving NAFA’s administrative capacity in fighting VAT intra-community fraud through an increased knowledge and awareness of the risks and a better use of fraud prevention and combating tools

40 605

68

10

RO

Legal Resources Centre Foundation

Corruption in EU financed projects: a review of corruption schemes, prevention mechanisms and investigation strategies

48 368

60

11

RO

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy

Eliminating fraud and preventing incompatibilities, a safe way towards successful access to European funds

13 289

38

12

RO

The Romanian Branch of the Freedom House Inc. Foundation

Enhancing the legal protection for EU financial interests in Romania

44 327

59

TOTAL

593 538

73

MS

Beneficiary

Title

Awarded Grant (EUR)

Co-fin %

1

DE

Max-Planck Institute

eucrim - The European Criminal Law Associations' Forum - publication of a periodical on the protection of the EU's financial interests

157 161

80

2

DE

European Academy of Law Trier Public Foundation

Transposition of PIF Directive and its consequences on the effectiveness of the EPPO

39 892

80

3

ES

University of Burgos

Toolkit for the prevention of frauds in European funds with special attention to ERDF and CF

79 033

90

4

IT

University of Perugia

Administrative prevention through targeted anti-corruption models for candidate countries

72 491

80

5

UK

Coventry University

VAT fraud: interdisciplinary research on tax crimes in the European Union

83 498

80

TOTAL

432 075

82

MS

Beneficiary

Title

Amount paid (EUR)

Amount paid as % to initial commit-ment 33

1

NL

University of Utrecht

OLAF and the EPPO in the new institutional setting for the protection of the financial interests of the EU

23 806

59

2

DE

European Law Academy

Understanding each step of the “anti-fraud cycle”: prevention, detection, investigation, sanctioning and recovery to combat the irregularities affecting the financial interests of the European Union

25 184

60

3

IT

University of Modena

Europe Against Cyber VAT Frauds

66 323

100

4

HU

University of Miskolc

Criminal law protection of the financial interests of the EU – Focusing on money laundering, tax fraud, corruption and on criminal compliance in the national legal systems with reference to cybercrime

56 985

77

5

RO

The National Anticorruption Directorate

Promoting the protection of the financial interests of the EU by supporting the actions of the member states and the European institutions in the transition towards the EPPO

35 785

55

6

LU

University of Luxembourg

Admissibility of OLAF final reports as evidence in criminal proceedings

58 496

75

7

RO

“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Police Academy

Developing the capacity to prevent and investigate situations of incompatibility and conflict of interest affecting the financial interests of the European Union

22 799

54

TOTAL

289 378

71

Number of applications received

Number of awarded grants

Grants requested (EUR)

Grants awarded

(EUR)

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 2019

43

13

36 003 542

10 901 200

Belgium

2

1

1 183 440

930 441

Bulgaria

2

0

1 055 579

Croatia

2

1

2 200 758

873 600

Czech Republic

1

1

269 640

252 000

Finland

1

0

416 272

Greece

3

0

1 780 276

Hungary

2

0

4 123 522

Ireland

1

1

1 734 720

1 734 720

Italy

2

2

1 353 418

1 137 055

Latvia

7

2

3 791 837

2 200 861

Lithuania

3

1

1 319 818

102 818

Malta

1

0

93 600

Poland

6

2

3 384 202

1 395 595

Romania

6

1

5 415 071

474 109

Slovakia

1

1

2 100 000

1 800 000

Spain

3

0

2 281 385

TRAINING & CONFERENCES 2019

19

10

1 486 009

605 056

Bulgaria

1

0

43 266

Cyprus

1

0

81 417

Greece

1

0

203 728

Hungary

2

1

190 870

57 306

Italy

4

3

305 201

222 004

Lithuania

2

2

84 959

77 433

Malta

1

0

59 506

Poland

2

1

73 387

54 017

Romania

3

2

211 592

118 392

Slovakia

2

1

232 078

75 899

LEGAL TRAINING 2019

6

5

542 104

432 075

Germany

2

2

197 096

197 053

Italy

2

1

191 259

72 491

Spain

1

1

70 251

79 033

United Kingdom

1

1

83 498

83 498

TOTAL

68

28

38 031 655

13 814 230