1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:25,720 OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, was set up on 1 June 1999 to replace EUCLAF, the 2 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:31,120 Unit for Coordination of Fraud Prevention, created in 1988 as part of the Secretariat 3 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,040 General of the Commission. 4 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,240 In creating OLAF, the European institutions wanted to provide themselves with an instrument 5 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:42,880 for fighting trans-border economic and financial crime, fraud and corruption that harms community 6 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,520 interests, in particular Europe's public finances. 7 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,120 With these first-hand accounts from its main operational partners in the fight against 8 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,680 fraud and cross-border crime, OLAF wishes to demonstrate to the people of Europe the 9 00:00:54,680 --> 00:01:12,760 benefits of this cooperation. 10 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,440 This video on OLAF and international cooperation has been produced in close cooperation with 11 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,180 the members of OLAF's Anti-Fraud Communicators Network, which is made up of public relations 12 00:01:22,180 --> 00:01:26,660 and communication officials in OLAF and in the national departments, which are its principal 13 00:01:26,660 --> 00:01:30,060 partners in the member states and the candidate countries. 14 00:01:30,060 --> 00:01:34,660 It is intended to provide the public with better information about the anti-fraud cooperation 15 00:01:34,660 --> 00:01:38,420 that exists between community institutions and national departments. 16 00:02:04,660 --> 00:02:22,620 Council of Ministers Decree No. 18 of 4 February 2003 established a council in Bulgaria for 17 00:02:22,620 --> 00:02:27,260 coordinating the fight against offences which damage the European community's financial 18 00:02:27,260 --> 00:02:31,700 interests and to serve as a national contact point for OLAF. 19 00:02:31,700 --> 00:02:36,460 Its main purpose is to give guidance, propose measures and monitor the progress and coordination 20 00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:42,100 of authorities' activities involved in detecting and preventing offences relating to European 21 00:02:42,100 --> 00:02:47,540 Union funding. 22 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:53,900 The best way to coordinate the national expertise and the capacity of different structures in 23 00:02:53,900 --> 00:03:00,060 member states of the European Union is to have the mediation and coordination function 24 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:07,500 of OLAF. 25 00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:12,940 Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office began to operate on the 21st of May 2002. 26 00:03:12,940 --> 00:03:17,780 It is made up of a federal prosecutor, 18 federal judges and an administrative management 27 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:19,100 team. 28 00:03:19,100 --> 00:03:23,300 As well as its national duties, the Federal Prosecutor's Office facilitates international 29 00:03:23,300 --> 00:03:28,780 cooperation and acts as the main judicial contact point for international criminal tribunals, 30 00:03:28,780 --> 00:03:33,740 Eurojust, OLAF and others. 31 00:03:33,740 --> 00:03:38,740 With OLAF together we try to exchange information, to analyse information. 32 00:03:38,740 --> 00:03:43,180 We try to identify together competent judicial authorities in Belgium. 33 00:03:43,180 --> 00:03:49,260 We coordinate investigations when different local authorities are concerned or OLAF and 34 00:03:49,260 --> 00:03:56,020 my office we try to conduct together cross-border police operations, for example for cigarette 35 00:03:56,020 --> 00:04:05,820 trafficking cases. 36 00:04:05,820 --> 00:04:10,740 The Federal Police Force has been in existence since the 1st of January 2001 and has some 37 00:04:10,740 --> 00:04:13,840 12,150 officers. 38 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,740 It performs specialist supralocal administrative and judicial policing missions as well as 39 00:04:18,740 --> 00:04:23,900 providing support for individual units, both in the local police and the federal police 40 00:04:23,900 --> 00:04:28,700 itself. 41 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:33,300 I think the collaboration between OLAF and this law enforcement agency has always been 42 00:04:33,300 --> 00:04:34,660 excellent. 43 00:04:34,660 --> 00:04:39,420 We are neighbours in Brussels and therefore partners as well and you can see that because 44 00:04:39,420 --> 00:04:45,020 many of the collaborators of this direction, my direction, already work in OLAF. 45 00:04:45,020 --> 00:04:51,060 It's a pity on the other hand that there is no national expert in OLAF from the police 46 00:04:51,060 --> 00:05:07,180 side. 47 00:05:07,180 --> 00:05:11,620 In the Czech Republic, the General Prosecutor's Office is at the top of the Public Prosecution 48 00:05:11,620 --> 00:05:13,140 Service. 49 00:05:13,140 --> 00:05:17,620 It works mainly on criminal matters but it also has important civil and administrative 50 00:05:17,620 --> 00:05:45,460 responsibilities. 51 00:05:45,460 --> 00:05:50,460 The Office for Combating Customs Offences is a linchpin of the German Customs Investigation 52 00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:51,820 Department. 53 00:05:51,820 --> 00:05:54,460 It reports to the Federal Ministry of Finance. 54 00:05:54,460 --> 00:05:59,860 It assists the Customs Administration in collecting tax revenues, plays a part in verifying community 55 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:13,520 expenditure and detecting cases of tax fraud and is responsible for monitoring the market. 56 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:20,040 As a central institution, the Customs Administration works closely with international administrators 57 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,880 and the European Union, therefore with OLAF. 58 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:31,120 This work is now on a worldwide scale, particularly in connection with textile imports from Asia. 59 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:55,840 This has been the case since the 1980s when we worked with EUCLAF, OLAF's predecessor. 60 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,240 For Guardia Civil's many responsibilities include the obligation to enforce customs 61 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:01,920 regulations. 62 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,800 It takes action to prevent and prosecute smuggling and fraud and is responsible for operational 63 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:14,440 cooperation with other national and foreign agencies. 64 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:34,480 There are a number of examples, but cooperation with OLAF has been critical, in some particular 65 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:53,160 fraud cases involving flax, oil and citrus fruits. 66 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:58,080 In France, the Customs and Indirect Taxation Service leads the efforts to combat fraud 67 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:02,800 against the community's financial interests, essentially due to its role in recovering 68 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:09,000 the European Union's own resources and in monitoring community agricultural aid. 69 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:28,840 This is why the service comes under the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Finance and Industry. 70 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:33,080 One method of fraud involves concealing the origin of products and processing them in 71 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:34,600 other countries. 72 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:39,360 This happened in 2002 with a case involving stainless steel wire. 73 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:44,000 It was produced in India under conditions allowing it to be sold in Europe at below 74 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:52,840 market price. 75 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,840 The products were packed and sent to the United Arab Emirates to make it look as if they came 76 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:21,000 from the UAE, which benefits from a preferential trade agreement with the European Union. 77 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:27,040 With its 11,800 police officers, the Gwadar Sikana is Ireland's national police force. 78 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,440 Its mission is to guarantee the highest possible level of individual protection, respect for 79 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,480 community rules and state security. 80 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:43,520 Unusually for police force, its uniformed officers do not carry firearms. 81 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:48,680 When the introduction of the euro on that first day, on the first of January, on that 82 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:56,280 day, Ireland unfortunately had the first counterfeit euro note passed and of course that was a 83 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,840 huge international story. 84 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:04,520 It was expected within the Union, but we in Ireland did not expect to be the first one. 85 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:11,480 I was able to share all of the experiences in relation to that particular time, how we 86 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:27,480 handled the media, how we had the cooperation with the different banking institutions. 87 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:32,080 Italy's Carabinieri are a military police force with general law enforcement powers 88 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,600 and responsibility for maintaining public safety. 89 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,940 It plays an active role in combating the counterfeiting of banknotes, coins and credit cards and maintains 90 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:50,540 contacts with specialist counterparts in other countries via OLAF. 91 00:10:50,540 --> 00:10:59,020 We have a very good level of cooperation with OLAF and we fight together against all forms 92 00:10:59,020 --> 00:11:04,420 of frauds against citizens of the European Union. 93 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:11,500 Of course Europe is something which is growing day by day and so we need to improve it day 94 00:11:11,500 --> 00:11:27,660 by day. 95 00:11:27,660 --> 00:11:31,820 Ever since it was established, Italy's Guardia di Finanza has played the role of tax police, 96 00:11:31,820 --> 00:11:34,940 a commitment that is the number one priority. 97 00:11:34,940 --> 00:11:39,420 The fight against tax evasion has gradually been extended to cover all types of irregularities 98 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:57,740 that compromise the budgets of the State and the European Union. 99 00:11:57,740 --> 00:12:03,100 We're very much aware that with the disappearance of borders within the European Union and then 100 00:12:03,100 --> 00:12:08,660 enlargement, criminal organizations are going to widen their activities. 101 00:12:08,660 --> 00:12:28,500 Cooperation will therefore become vital in the fight against organized crime. 102 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:33,260 The National Police are in charge of guaranteeing public order and security and preventing and 103 00:12:33,260 --> 00:12:35,020 dealing with crime. 104 00:12:35,020 --> 00:12:57,220 It has police stations, inter-regional headquarters and provincial and local offices. 105 00:12:57,220 --> 00:13:02,380 Economic and financial fraud on a community level represent a serious threat to the interests 106 00:13:02,380 --> 00:13:06,540 of the European Union and therefore to national interests. 107 00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:12,300 The social impact is such that this phenomenon must be tackled by coordinated international 108 00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:26,980 action. 109 00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:31,140 The police in Cyprus are responsible for general law and order in the country. 110 00:13:31,140 --> 00:13:35,460 They maintain close and permanent contact with a wide range of institutions and organizations 111 00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:43,220 including OLAF, both in Cyprus and overseas. 112 00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:56,220 I believe that through the OLAF and the Fraud Communicator Network meeting, by exchanging 113 00:13:56,220 --> 00:14:03,700 of information, knowledges and practical experience among the organization and the 114 00:14:03,700 --> 00:14:12,340 participants of each member country, we'll be more efficient and effective to prevent 115 00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:16,820 and investigate fraud. 116 00:14:26,220 --> 00:14:36,020 The tasks of the Lithuanian Customs Service are to protect the market and society, to 117 00:14:36,020 --> 00:14:45,780 collect customs duties and taxes and to prevent and investigate customs offences. 118 00:14:45,780 --> 00:14:52,740 We are delighted with the joint activities of the Customs Criminal Service and OLAF, 119 00:14:52,740 --> 00:15:01,900 the result of which is detention of over 25 million units of smuggled cigarettes. 120 00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:08,740 However, our belief is that adequate attention must be paid by the Lithuanian Customs, not 121 00:15:08,740 --> 00:15:16,740 only to prevent an active fight against smuggling, but also to fruitful cooperation with colleagues 122 00:15:16,740 --> 00:15:22,460 from other countries of the world, so that as few as possible get involved in the crimes 123 00:15:22,460 --> 00:15:23,580 of this nature.