The war on European financial fraud: €4.5 billion recovered between 2022 and 2024

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Research, Recovery, and Reassessment: The Three “R” Technique in the Fight Against Corruption.

With press release no. 16/2025 dated June 16, 2025, OLAF (Office européen de lutte antifraude – the European Anti-Fraud Office) announced the publication, via its official channels, of the annual report detailing its investigative activity for 2024. The report – freely available at the link Annual OLAF reports – European Commission, also in a shortened format – highlights how the agency has waged a Herculean battle against financial fraud in order to protect the EU budget and safeguard the integrity of European institutions.

In 2024 alone, OLAF concluded 246 investigations, opened 230 new cases, and issued over 300 recommendations to national and EU authorities.

It scrutinized funds linked to irregularities totaling €871 million, while an additional €43 million was blocked before disbursement. A further €419 million was safeguarded through preventive measures.

In the medium term (covering the 2022–2024 period), OLAF’s investigations enabled the recovery of €4.5 billion and prevented the improper expenditure of over €800 million.

But what types of fraud and economic sectors were under scrutiny?

A Network of Scandals

The report clearly states:

“… OLAF’s mandate is to detect, investigate and prevent any potential fraud or irregularity affecting the EU budget. In other words, we ensure that taxpayers’ money reaches the priority funding areas – those for which it is intended and where it can do good …”

In fulfilling this mandate, a wide range of activities and phenomena were examined: from fraud involving agricultural and structural funds, to corruption and manipulation of public procurement processes in various Member States, to irregular customs operations and the fight against counterfeiting.

Some of the most notable cases include:

Fraud involving EU-funded infrastructure projects: In close cooperation with Slovak law enforcement and judiciary authorities, OLAF uncovered systematic and widespread bribery practices used to secure the improper approval of rural development projects co-financed by the EU between 2015 and 2020, targeting specific regions of Slovakia. The investigations focused on 39 European projects related to the purchase of heavy agricultural equipment, modernization of agricultural infrastructure, and renovation of rural buildings.

According to the press release:

“… OLAF recommended the recovery of €7.5 million disbursed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the immediate repayment of €2.5 million in loans from the European Investment Bank, which had supported national co-financing of the projects. Specific criminal acts by suspected beneficiaries, suppliers, consultants, and individuals linked to the projects were reported to the Slovak judiciary …”

Corruption in Hungarian bureaucracy: In July 2024, OLAF closed its investigation into a corruption network in Hungary, uncovering a systematic mechanism of bribes and other illicit activities involving 30 billion Hungarian forints (€75 million) in EU funds linked to 112 projects. Following the investigation, Hungary’s Central Prosecutor’s Office indicted 54 individuals for corruption, extortion, abuse of office, and abuse of power.

Suspicious exports between Poland and Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian trade: In 2024, OLAF concluded its investigation into major violations of procurement rules, transparency, and financial management regarding a €114 million EU-funded project overseen by the Polish Government Agency for Strategic Reserves (RARS). The project aimed to procure and deliver power generators to Ukrainian regions suffering from energy shortages. Thanks to OLAF’s efforts, €91 million were flagged for recovery, with a further €22 million saved from improper spending.

Large-scale counterfeiting: OLAF worked in partnership with customs authorities to block the entry into Europe of millions of counterfeit and potentially dangerous goods, including fake pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, defective or hazardous electronics, and counterfeit merchandise tied to sports and cultural events.

As officials explained in the report, the aim is not only to protect the EU budget but also the health and safety of its citizens.

Internal Integrity: The EU Looks in the Mirror

Another striking insight from the 2024 annual report is that OLAF does not limit its gaze to the outside world — to Member States, businesses, or other recipients of EU funding.

A substantial part of its investigative activity is devoted to internal oversight — or more precisely, to the supervision of integrity within the EU institutions themselves, including officials, collaborators, and decision-making bodies.

The underlying principle is clear: to build the EU’s credibility by setting a good example — or at the very least, trying to.

In 2024 alone, OLAF carried out numerous internal investigations that revealed:

Irregularities in staff recruitment processes, such as favoritism, leaks of confidential information, or manipulated assessments to benefit specific candidates. Such violations undermine the fairness of EU competitions and erode trust in the impartiality of the public administration.

Conflicts of interest, sometimes undeclared, between EU officials and external parties (companies, consultants, NGOs), raising the risk of decisions tainted by undisclosed personal or financial ties. OLAF identified cases in which administrative, funding, or procurement decisions were influenced by private interests, in breach of the duty of impartiality.

Violations of the code of ethics and professional duties, ranging from inappropriate workplace behavior to failure to uphold transparency obligations, including cases of bullying, harassment, or misuse of institutional resources.

Data from the section of the report titled Disciplinary Impact show that actual decisions were taken on 68% of OLAF’s disciplinary recommendations between 2020 and 2024.

Of those resulting in a decision, over 71% were fully or partially implemented.

What Emerges from the Mire

Reading between the lines of the voluminous 2024 OLAF report, one gets the sense that there is a deeper meaning to the role of this body—one that goes beyond its mere investigative function: it appears that OLAF aspires to become one of the Union’s instruments of self-protection, aimed at ensuring the proper functioning of its economy and institutions. And so, all that remains is to see which shadowy areas this investigative machine—this colossal magnifying glass trained on the old continent—will be able and willing to uncover in the years to come, so that its ambitious goal may become a reality.