1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:25,880 OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, was set up on 1 June 1999 to replace EUCLAF, the 2 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:31,280 Unit for Coordination of Fraud Prevention, created in 1988 as part of the Secretariat 3 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,200 General of the Commission. 4 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:37,400 In creating OLAF, the European institutions wanted to provide themselves with an instrument 5 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:43,040 for fighting trans-border economic and financial crime, fraud and corruption that harms community 6 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,700 interests, in particular Europe's public finances. 7 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:50,280 With these first-hand accounts from its main operational partners in the fight against 8 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,840 fraud and cross-border crime, OLAF wishes to demonstrate to the people of Europe the 9 00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:12,880 benefits of this cooperation. 10 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,560 This video on OLAF and international cooperation has been produced in close cooperation with 11 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:22,300 the members of OLAF's Anti-Fraud Communicators Network, which is made up of public relations 12 00:01:22,300 --> 00:01:26,780 and communication officials in OLAF and in the national departments, which are its principal 13 00:01:26,780 --> 00:01:30,180 partners in the member states and the candidate countries. 14 00:01:30,180 --> 00:01:34,780 It is intended to provide the public with better information about the anti-fraud cooperation 15 00:01:34,780 --> 00:01:38,540 that exists between community institutions and national departments. 16 00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:25,420 The tasks of the Lithuanian Customs Service are to protect the market and society, to 17 00:02:25,420 --> 00:02:36,940 collect customs duties and taxes, and to prevent and investigate customs offences. 18 00:02:36,940 --> 00:02:43,900 We are delighted with the joint activities of the Customs Criminal Service and OLAF, 19 00:02:43,900 --> 00:02:52,980 the result of which is detention of over 25 million units of smuggled cigarettes. 20 00:02:53,460 --> 00:02:59,900 However, our belief is that adequate attention must be paid by the Lithuanian Customs, not 21 00:02:59,900 --> 00:03:07,900 only to prevent an active fight against smuggling, but also to fruitful cooperation with colleagues 22 00:03:07,900 --> 00:03:13,620 from other countries of the world, so that as few as possible get involved in crimes 23 00:03:13,620 --> 00:03:14,740 of this nature. 24 00:03:23,220 --> 00:03:27,660 The main objective of the Financial Crime Investigation Department is to create an effective 25 00:03:27,660 --> 00:03:31,420 system for preventing financial crime in Lithuania. 26 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:36,780 In 2002, the Lithuanian government made our department responsible for cooperation with 27 00:03:36,780 --> 00:03:51,540 OLAF. 28 00:03:51,540 --> 00:03:56,500 Additional assistance from the European Structural Funds will play a vital role in Lithuania's 29 00:03:56,500 --> 00:03:59,460 integration into the European Union. 30 00:03:59,460 --> 00:04:05,060 In this context, cooperation with OLAF takes on a whole new dimension in terms of investigating 31 00:04:05,060 --> 00:04:10,100 fraud links to the use of these funds in the Lithuanian economy. 32 00:04:10,100 --> 00:04:17,540 I would like to add that between now and accession in 2004, in cooperation with OLAF, some 20 33 00:04:17,540 --> 00:04:34,540 seminars will be held in Lithuania on the practicalities of carrying out such investigations. 34 00:04:34,540 --> 00:04:39,580 The Special Investigation Service, or STT, is an independent specialized law enforcement 35 00:04:39,580 --> 00:04:45,860 agency responsible for the prevention, detection and investigation of corruption-related offences. 36 00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:50,220 STT reports to the President of the Republic and the Parliament. 37 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:53,660 Its activities are supervised by the Prosecutor's Office. 38 00:04:53,660 --> 00:04:58,340 In fulfilling its tasks of preventing and investigating corruption, STT carries out 39 00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:03,060 intelligence activities and conducts interviews and preliminary investigations in criminal 40 00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:08,860 cases. 41 00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:14,180 Cases of fraud and smuggling are often closely connected with corruption-related offences. 42 00:05:14,180 --> 00:05:18,780 Therefore, it is essential to cooperate and assist each other. 43 00:05:18,780 --> 00:05:24,300 Meetings with the OLAF officials showed that we understand each other as professionals 44 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:43,380 and this enables us to believe that our cooperation will be successful. 45 00:05:43,380 --> 00:05:47,500 As well as its general duties relating to customs and excise and collection of revenue 46 00:05:47,500 --> 00:05:52,820 for the European Union, Luxembourg's customs and excise service has been expanded since 47 00:05:52,820 --> 00:06:07,140 1993 to carry out functions relating to national and international security. 48 00:06:07,140 --> 00:06:11,220 This will evidently improve the exchange of information between the different customs 49 00:06:11,220 --> 00:06:13,100 authorities and the police. 50 00:06:13,100 --> 00:06:17,980 This is very important since it is necessary for everyone to work together to eliminate 51 00:06:17,980 --> 00:06:29,500 fraud. 52 00:06:29,500 --> 00:06:34,540 The activities of the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard consist of detecting and investigating 53 00:06:34,540 --> 00:06:39,940 offences against financial and customs legislation falling within its remit, including urgent 54 00:06:39,940 --> 00:06:42,020 criminal investigations. 55 00:06:42,020 --> 00:06:52,620 The Guard plays a vital role in preventing and acting on crime. 56 00:06:52,620 --> 00:07:00,620 Basically our cooperation is concentrated on the fight against the smuggling of cigarettes 57 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:04,060 and goods, particularly in transit. 58 00:07:04,060 --> 00:07:13,260 Currently, we focus attention on preparation to our accession to EU membership and apart 59 00:07:13,260 --> 00:07:25,380 from attending training, we also try to lay the foundations of our connections to the 60 00:07:25,380 --> 00:07:28,540 databases operated by the European Union by OLAF. 61 00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:47,860 Malta's Customs Department is in the process of overhauling its structures and procedures 62 00:07:47,860 --> 00:07:52,660 in preparation for joining the European Union on the 1st of May this year. 63 00:07:52,660 --> 00:08:00,860 The Customs Department has just put in place a system aimed at modernising the service. 64 00:08:00,860 --> 00:08:13,020 Obviously, especially through these seminars where we meet a lot of number of officials 65 00:08:13,020 --> 00:08:20,820 from other agencies, we can share the information which will obviously help us detect any contraband 66 00:08:20,820 --> 00:08:24,140 being trafficked through our islands. 67 00:08:24,140 --> 00:08:30,300 Although we are a small country, we can contribute even to bigger countries now because we are 68 00:08:30,300 --> 00:08:35,260 right in the thick of it, in the middle of the Mediterranean, through which a huge number 69 00:08:35,260 --> 00:08:45,180 of containers do use our free ports. 70 00:08:45,180 --> 00:08:49,060 The fight against fraud is one of the main objectives of the Tax and Customs Service 71 00:08:49,060 --> 00:08:50,700 in the Netherlands. 72 00:08:50,700 --> 00:08:55,780 It is responsible for enforcement of regulations and carries out inspections and enquiries. 73 00:08:55,780 --> 00:09:01,860 The FIOD-ECD is the investigating service of the Customs and Tax Service. 74 00:09:01,860 --> 00:09:06,060 With the power to launch criminal proceedings, it ensures that law is observed and attempts 75 00:09:06,060 --> 00:09:13,740 to detect financial and tax fraud. 76 00:09:13,740 --> 00:09:20,980 I'm sure that international cooperation will stay very important also in the future and 77 00:09:20,980 --> 00:09:29,620 that exchange of information will play an essential role in that and in fighting fraud 78 00:09:29,620 --> 00:09:39,620 internationally. 79 00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:44,020 In Austria, the Anti-Fraud Service of the Ministry of Finance has several roles. 80 00:09:44,020 --> 00:09:48,700 It cooperates and provides mutual assistance in the customs area while acting as a cornerstone 81 00:09:48,700 --> 00:09:51,020 of the European Union Treaty. 82 00:09:51,020 --> 00:09:55,580 It has a central office for customs information and analysis and is the information point 83 00:09:55,580 --> 00:09:57,660 for anti-fraud initiatives. 84 00:09:57,660 --> 00:10:06,460 It also controls the illegal employment of foreigners. 85 00:10:06,460 --> 00:10:13,620 One of our biggest cases in the last time was the export of beef to Russia. 86 00:10:13,620 --> 00:10:19,620 It's a case going up some more than 7 million euros. 87 00:10:19,620 --> 00:10:25,380 The beef was not exported to Russia but to other countries and we detected that there 88 00:10:25,380 --> 00:10:39,100 was a Russian broker firm which organized all such fraud cases. 89 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:43,660 The Treasury's Office for International Relations is OILAF's partner in Poland. 90 00:10:43,660 --> 00:10:47,100 It was created on the 3rd of August 2002. 91 00:10:47,100 --> 00:10:51,100 The office coordinates operations and ensures there is an exchange of information between 92 00:10:51,100 --> 00:10:56,140 the organizations responsible for control and the other relevant authorities. 93 00:10:56,140 --> 00:11:00,060 The aim is to ensure the protection of Poland's financial interests as well as those of the 94 00:11:00,060 --> 00:11:01,940 European Union. 95 00:11:01,940 --> 00:11:06,380 There is regular contact with OILAF as well as institutions in member and candidate countries 96 00:11:06,380 --> 00:11:08,180 which are involved in fighting fraud. 97 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:36,740 OILAF's contact in Poland is the Inspector General of Fraud Control who reports directly 98 00:11:36,740 --> 00:11:41,620 to the Prime Minister and is assisted by the Office for International Relations at the 99 00:11:41,620 --> 00:11:42,940 Treasury. 100 00:11:42,940 --> 00:11:48,700 The office receives information from the Ministry of Finance and other Polish institutions. 101 00:11:48,700 --> 00:12:08,980 We feel protected by having in OILAF an experienced and efficient partner. 102 00:12:08,980 --> 00:12:12,860 The Portuguese Director General for Customs and Excise is a service of the Ministry of 103 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:17,700 Finance whose mission is to provide control of the European Union external border and 104 00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:22,780 the National Customs Territory border for tax and financial purposes and the protection 105 00:12:22,780 --> 00:12:24,540 of society. 106 00:12:24,540 --> 00:12:29,180 It also administers excise duties and other indirect taxes falling within its remit. 107 00:12:29,180 --> 00:12:40,100 It is fundamental to make available to the Member States information systems. 108 00:12:40,100 --> 00:13:06,460 The information we receive from OILAF is crucial and without it our work would be much more 109 00:13:06,460 --> 00:13:07,460 difficult. 110 00:13:07,660 --> 00:13:13,340 Our cooperation with OILAF ranges from observing movements of goods to monitoring vessels with 111 00:13:13,340 --> 00:13:36,380 the assistance of the tools OILAF makes available to us. 112 00:13:36,380 --> 00:13:40,580 The Republican National Guard is a military style security force that is in charge of 113 00:13:40,580 --> 00:14:03,180 internal security, criminal investigations and the prevention of tax and customs offences. 114 00:14:03,180 --> 00:14:06,700 Collaboration between the Fiscal Brigade and OILAF goes back to the 90s when it was 115 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,460 known as EUCLAF. 116 00:14:08,460 --> 00:14:14,380 In January this year the Fiscal Brigade seized a cargo of 15 million cigarettes. 117 00:14:14,380 --> 00:14:19,860 Through close collaboration with OILAF it was able to reconstruct a cigarette smuggling 118 00:14:19,860 --> 00:14:39,180 route and uncover a link with American tobacco producers. 119 00:14:39,180 --> 00:14:44,780 By a decision taken on the 23rd of May 2003, the Romanian government designated the Prime 120 00:14:44,780 --> 00:14:48,680 Minister's Control Department as the sole point of contact with OILAF. 121 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:53,400 It is responsible for coordinating all activities relating to the protection of Romania's financial 122 00:14:53,400 --> 00:15:01,240 interests and those of the European Union. 123 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:08,880 The Romanian government control department has been very proud of becoming the contact 124 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,360 point of OILAF. 125 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:34,040 We 126 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:40,120 have already got some success and we are very, very optimistic for the future. 127 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:58,920 Slovenia's Customs Service is part of the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for 128 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:15,800 the management and collection of customs duties, excise and VAT on imports. 129 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:20,520 We're aware of the importance and of the usefulness of the work that is carried out thanks to 130 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:25,720 the cooperation with OILAF in the past, at present and of course in the future through 131 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,920 our contact organization. 132 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:48,160 Up to now, our collaboration with OILAF has produced excellent results. 133 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,680 In its crime prevention activities, Finland's Customs Service works closely with other national 134 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:58,200 agencies responsible for law enforcement, including the police and border control offices. 135 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:10,800 It has a national office and operates independently, coming under the Ministry of Finance. 136 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:16,000 OILAF is also an important body in EU's enlargement process. 137 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:21,960 EU members need assistance and guidance in fighting against organized crime in Europe 138 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:22,960 and worldwide. 139 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:30,120 Particularly, we can see the efforts OILAF has done what concerns cigarette smuggling 140 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:37,520 around the European Union, which has been one of the most significant crime type in 141 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:58,240 this area. 142 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,200 In Sweden, the National Customs Service has two important functions. 143 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:06,880 The first is to establish and collect customs duties, VAT and other charges on imports and 144 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:08,320 exports. 145 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:13,240 The other function is to monitor and control imports and exports of goods in order to ensure 146 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:22,200 that laws are respected. 147 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:28,840 During a couple of years, we have close cooperation with OILAF and the OILAF office in Brussels 148 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:34,760 and we have found it very successful when we also now have received, for example, the 149 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:39,920 customs information systems, the IT systems that we could communicate between the member 150 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:45,320 states and also between OILAF, and particularly in the area of fraud activities.