WHAT IS OLAF?

BY KEITH NUTHALL THE EUROPEAN Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) - its acronym comes from its French name l'Office Européen de Lutte Anti-Fraude - was set up in 1999 to OLAF to protect the financial interests of the European Union's (EU) various institutions: fighting fraud, corruption and any other irregular activity, including misconduct. The office is not a police force. It cannot arrest fraudsters and take them to court. It does, however, have 400 staff, including trained and experienced investigators armed with legal powers to investigate wrong-doing. This covers ...


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