In 2017, a total of 1146 irregularities were reported as fraudulent, concerning a total amount of €467 million, representing an increase of €37.5 million compared to 2016, according to the 2017 annual report on the protection of the financial interests of the European Union, which was published on Monday 3 September.
In 2017, a total number of 15,213 irregularities, fraudulent or otherwise, were reported to the Commission, or a 20.8% reduction compared to 2016. They concerned a total in the region of €2.58 billion, which represents a drop of 8.6% on the previous year, the Commission report explains.
In 2017, 1146 irregularities were reported as fraudulent (or 7.5% of all irregularities detected and reported), involving a total of around €467 million (representing 18.1% of total financial amounts affected by irregularities) and covering both expenditure (€381 million) and revenue (€76.3 million).
The number of fraudulent irregularities reported in 2017 fell by 19.3% compared to 2016. The financial amounts involved, however, increased by 37.5%. Looking at a five-year period (2013-2017), this was 32% fewer than in 2013, and 23% below the five-year average.
In terms of amounts, Slovakia is top of the list of countries concerned (€172 million in the field of structural funds), ahead of Romania (€75 million) and Poland (€57 million).
Investigations. In 2017, OLAF opened 215 investigations and closed 197, recommending financial recoveries worth €3.1 billion, of which €2.7 billion related to revenue. At the end of the year, 362 investigations were still ongoing. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)