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OLAF in action: operation banana

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Subido el 29 de junio de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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OLAF in action: operation banana

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♪♪ 00:00:00
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June 2000, the port of Catania in Sicily, 00:00:33
one of Italy's many attractive sights. 00:00:36
However, in the shadow of Mount Etna, 00:00:38
with its rings of smoke that delight the tourists, 00:00:40
Catania is also a capital for all types of trafficking. 00:00:43
The port of Catania supplies more than 300,000 inhabitants daily. 00:00:47
It was also the centre of a vast fraud 00:00:51
that disrupted the entire EU market 00:00:53
in a product previously unknown in Sicily. 00:00:55
Catania is an essential transit port in the Mediterranean 00:01:01
and millions of tonnes of freight are loaded or unloaded 00:01:04
on the vessels berthed there. 00:01:07
Forklift trucks and cranes constantly move a wealth of goods 00:01:09
in a hive of synchronised activity. 00:01:13
Nobody really knows the contents of the hundreds 00:01:15
of hermetically sealed containers stored at the docks. 00:01:18
There's no way of telling whether goods here 00:01:21
are in legitimate trade or illegal trafficking. 00:01:23
Behind the portholes of ships from all over the world, 00:01:28
meetings are going on and deals are being struck 00:01:31
to the indifference of the fishermen. 00:01:33
Despite the constant surveillance of the port authorities, 00:01:38
the police and customs, 00:01:41
fraud has well and truly landed in the Bay of Catania. 00:01:42
Whether the work of criminal organisations 00:01:47
or individuals acting alone, 00:01:49
fraud may be concealed anywhere in such a large port. 00:01:51
Neither surveillance of the port nor the checks that are performed 00:01:55
can put a complete stop to the activities of the traffickers. 00:01:58
Both day and night, illegal business is in full swing. 00:02:05
Financial police and customs keep watch and patrol 00:02:13
every night in the port to hunt down the smugglers. 00:02:16
But help from Europe is very often valuable. 00:02:19
In June 2000, after an anonymous tip-off, 00:02:28
officials from the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, 00:02:31
made the unbelievable discovery that there had been 00:02:34
illegal trafficking in bananas for nearly two years, 00:02:37
which had netted those responsible for it 00:02:41
hundreds of millions of euros. 00:02:43
The trafficking of fruit for a few euros profit per kilo 00:02:45
might look like a joke. 00:02:48
However, make no mistake, 00:02:50
since 4,000 tonnes of fruit a week were involved, 00:02:52
the entire EU market in bananas was under threat. 00:02:55
OLAF therefore informed customs and the Italian authorities. 00:02:58
They could then begin their work together. 00:03:02
At the outset, this inquiry was only aimed 00:03:05
at monitoring a vessel suspected of carrying cocaine. 00:03:09
The inquiry was unsuccessful because no cocaine was found on board. 00:03:16
However, quite by chance, it was found that the same vessel 00:03:22
was in fact transporting bananas and attempting to evade customs. 00:03:26
In the banana sector, the rules entitle 00:03:32
importers with a valid agri-import licence 00:03:36
to lower customs duties on goods within the yearly quota, 00:03:39
compared to the duties levied on non-quota goods. 00:03:52
Licence holders only needed to pay duties of 55 euros per tonne 00:03:57
instead of 850 euros per tonne. 00:04:02
This difference was bound to interest unscrupulous operators 00:04:11
who, after obtaining forced import licences, 00:04:15
were forced to pay duties of 55 euros per tonne 00:04:18
instead of 850 euros per tonne. 00:04:21
In this case, 00:04:26
non-expectative attacks to the detriment of the European Union. 00:04:31
The banana fraud has already been dubbed the fraud of the century. 00:04:38
In fact, the financial impact of the fraud 00:04:42
is reckoned to be in the region of 300 to 500 million euros. 00:04:45
However, these figures only describe 00:04:50
the amount of customs duties evaded. 00:04:54
In fact, the fraud itself revolved around the use of 00:05:02
forced import licences needed to import third country goods 00:05:05
and release them for free circulation. 00:05:09
The licences themselves were negotiable 00:05:13
and were worth somewhere in the region of 00:05:16
3 to 6 dollars per crate of bananas. 00:05:19
Therefore, the criminal organisations that sold these false certificates 00:05:28
made a sizeable criminal profit, 00:05:32
which represents a real profit of the fraud. 00:05:35
We've been able to find out how a small village shopkeeper 00:05:43
from the provinces has managed to build up 00:05:47
a real empire from nothing 00:05:50
and control the trade in bananas in the whole of central and southern Italy. 00:05:53
Thanks to Olaf, we've learned that this type of activity 00:06:02
is linked to other countries such as France, Spain, 00:06:06
and Portugal. 00:06:09
We've also managed to understand what at first wasn't very clear, 00:06:14
that more profit can be made from this type of fraud 00:06:21
than from serious crimes such as importing a tonne of cocaine. 00:06:24
This is the pattern we've been able to uncover 00:06:32
thanks to assistance from Olaf. 00:06:35
The work hasn't been easy, 00:06:39
but it has been made easier through cooperation. 00:06:41
Indeed, the fraud of the century had been uncovered. 00:06:46
From then on, there was no time to waste at Olaf's headquarters. 00:06:49
Two investigators were sent to the scene of the trafficking, 00:06:54
the first to Paris and the second to Catania. 00:06:57
Both investigators and agents on the ground had to collect evidence 00:07:00
and provide added value to the investigations of their colleagues 00:07:04
and the national services. 00:07:07
But first, information had to be obtained 00:07:11
about the legislation in force in the countries 00:07:13
where the fraud had been committed. 00:07:15
In criminal matters, each state applies its own laws. 00:07:17
Furthermore, Olaf's lawyers and agents must strictly adhere to them. 00:07:20
This enabled Olaf's operation to be backed up by a coordinated strike. 00:07:25
And the evidence collected could be used 00:07:30
in national administrative and criminal proceedings. 00:07:32
At the finance police offices in Catania, the tension is high. 00:07:38
At least 200,000 tonnes of bananas have entered the port illegally. 00:07:43
The loss to the community's budget from the false customs documents 00:07:48
has been so great that these false declarations 00:07:52
have been dubbed the Eurobananas. 00:07:55
The Olaf agent is surrounded by representatives from customs, 00:07:58
the legal team and the police. 00:08:02
A strategy is adopted to catch the criminals red-handed. 00:08:04
First of all, a search will be made of the banana ship 00:08:08
suspected of being involved in the fraud. 00:08:11
It's just entered the port. 00:08:14
As a result of Olaf investigations, 00:08:22
over 1,100 suspect French and Spanish licences have been identified 00:08:24
that had been used to import bananas illegally into the European Union. 00:08:28
Bananas entered the community through customs in Spain, 00:08:32
Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Greece and Italy. 00:08:35
But above all, it's necessary to obtain watertight evidence 00:08:45
of the illegal trade being carried out. 00:08:48
The Olaf investigator sends a fax to the French customs authorities 00:08:50
as his colleague is awaiting his message in Paris. 00:08:54
The reply is unequivocal. 00:08:58
The customs documents are false. 00:09:00
The moment for which everyone has been waiting is near. 00:09:02
The ship can be searched. 00:09:06
Customs officers and financial police don their identity tags. 00:09:09
The tension is high. 00:09:14
It's the first time Olaf has been caught red-handed. 00:09:16
It's the first time Olaf has been caught red-handed. 00:09:20
Customs officers and financial police don their identity tags. 00:09:23
The tension is high as they are perhaps about to put an end 00:09:27
to the banana chaos shaking the EU. 00:09:30
Captain Maniscalco and his team surround the port 00:09:37
with sirens and flashing lights switched on. 00:09:39
Nothing must be left to chance as the risks are high. 00:09:42
The sums of money involved are significant 00:09:45
and as one form of trafficking may conceal another, 00:09:47
criminals could well respond in a big way. 00:09:50
For increased security, the air force is called in 00:09:55
while the police launch blocks any attempt to escape by sea. 00:09:58
Due to the timing of the operation, 00:10:07
it was impossible to search the ship from top to bottom. 00:10:09
Every customs document belonging to the captain 00:10:13
was scrutinised page by page. 00:10:15
The fraud is confirmed. 00:10:20
The cargo of bananas has indeed entered Italy fraudulently. 00:10:22
This new operational phase of the inquiry 00:10:28
would enable the organisers of the trafficking 00:10:30
to be identified and brought to justice. 00:10:32
Without delay, the offices of the company under suspicion were entered. 00:10:36
The OLAF officer assisted the Italian authorities. 00:10:46
Actual searches were carried out by the national police forces. 00:10:49
The next day, the Italian authorities 00:10:56
Actual searches were carried out by the national police forces. 00:10:59
On this occasion, the search pays dividends. 00:11:04
The names of the brokers involved in the fraud 00:11:08
are found in the files and on computer. 00:11:10
The documents seized provide watertight evidence 00:11:13
that trafficking has taken place. 00:11:15
The suspects are arrested and led away to the finance police. 00:11:28
It's important to smash the whole network of criminals. 00:11:34
Now it's the turn of the Italian authorities to pursue the criminals. 00:11:40
OLAF has played its part in assisting the legal, customs and police services 00:11:45
of the member states involved in the case. 00:11:49
Had it not been for the cooperation of customs in other member states, 00:11:53
the checks would not have succeeded. 00:11:56
The customs declaration is presented to an office 00:12:02
that checks whether the particulars of the accompanying documents 00:12:05
tally with those of the declaration itself. 00:12:09
And the document is then captured by the customs computer system. 00:12:14
Thanks to the information obtained from the fraud prevention services 00:12:19
in the European Union, 00:12:23
it is possible to identify attempts at fraud 00:12:25
that are to the detriment of the community. 00:12:28
However, OLAF's work is far from over. 00:12:33
Its officer will have to provide details of his actions 00:12:35
when testifying before the Italian courts. 00:12:38
Indeed, judging by our actual experiences in the past, 00:12:42
OLAF's work is a decisive and essential factor 00:12:46
in helping us carry out our inquiries, 00:12:50
as OLAF acts as a driving force, 00:12:53
as well as coordinating and circulating information. 00:12:57
Thanks to experience at OLAF, 00:13:05
and because of information meetings 00:13:07
organised with the magistrates' unit before leaving Brussels, 00:13:09
the OLAF officer complied strictly with the procedures 00:13:12
concerning the legislation in force in Italy, 00:13:15
and his testimony was admissible in the court in Catania. 00:13:18
The case is now taken its final steps 00:13:27
and the case is now taken its final steps 00:13:30
and the case is now taken its final steps 00:13:33
and the case is now taken its course through the criminal courts. 00:13:36
OLAF must now ensure that the financial loss 00:13:39
to the European Union is made good. 00:13:42
The money lost from the fraud must be recovered. 00:13:45
The relevant national authorities 00:13:56
have to recover the sums of money in question, 00:13:58
but OLAF has an important role to play here also, 00:14:01
despite the differences between the national systems. 00:14:04
We have 15 different legal systems in the member states. 00:14:08
This explains why, on the basis of OLAF's experience on the ground, 00:14:13
the European institutions are working towards the creation 00:14:17
of a European public prosecutor, 00:14:20
which should help harmonise criminal prosecutions throughout the Union. 00:14:22
However, until a European public prosecutor is created, 00:14:26
attempts will be made to remedy the fragmentary nature 00:14:29
of the European criminal law enforcement area 00:14:32
through recourse to the legal expertise of OLAF's staff. 00:14:35
This contrasts with the fact that the fraudsters 00:14:38
were organising their illegal activities unhindered, 00:14:41
well before the opening up of borders. 00:14:44
We speak the same language, the same legal language. 00:14:46
This is also very important for us, 00:14:50
to have the close cooperation with the magistrate 00:14:53
and the judges in the member states. 00:14:57
What lessons should be taken from Operation Banana? 00:15:00
It should be remembered that this is not an isolated case, 00:15:03
as OLAF handles hundreds of cases every year. 00:15:07
But Operation Banana is also an exemplary case 00:15:10
of a criminal attack against the financial and economic interests 00:15:13
of the community. 00:15:17
Four factors made the fraud easier. 00:15:18
The complex nature of community regulations. 00:15:23
The transnational nature of the fraud. 00:15:27
The existence of an organised criminal system. 00:15:32
And finally, the dispersal of judicial authorities 00:15:37
throughout the entire European Union. 00:15:40
If it had not been for OLAF, 00:15:49
the case in question might have gone unpunished. 00:15:51
OLAF added value due to its expertise in community regulations. 00:15:54
A transnational approach to its operations. 00:16:00
The multinational composition of its investigators. 00:16:07
The expertise in financial and legal investigations of OLAF staff. 00:16:13
The complexity of the case of OLAF's penalty system in the Great Minister's jail. 00:16:25
That pain. 00:16:34
OLAF's ability to reach at once, 00:16:48
and to sair with others is also indispensable. 00:16:53
To the best of our knowledge, 00:17:02
OLAF intends to break Universal Law 00:17:06
and launch a new independent system, 00:17:11
that spares the highest risk! 00:17:14
Special thanks to 00:17:19
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
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      • Nivel Intermedio
Autor/es:
The European Union
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
1090
Fecha:
29 de junio de 2007 - 14:40
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
European Commission
Duración:
17′ 20″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
320x240 píxeles
Tamaño:
94.33 MBytes

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