OLAF and World Bank strengthen cooperation against financial irregularities

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Group Internal Audit Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group (GIA) signed an Administrative Cooperation Arrangement with the scope to improve efficiency, effectiveness and internal controls in the operations against illegal activities falling within the respective mandates of the two partners. OLAF Director-General Ville Itälä and GIA Vice President and Auditor General Anke D’Angelo signed the arrangement in Brussels on 13 June 2023, confirming the strong cooperation between OLAF and GIA.

The arrangement serves to strengthen and streamline the practical cooperation between OLAF and GIA. It will now become even easier for the two bodies to work together, particularly in areas such as oversight, exchange of information and joint activities related to the detection and prevention of irregularities and other illegal activities affecting the EU’s and the World Bank Group’s financial interests.

The European Union and the Word Bank Group have a long-standing partnership centred on providing support to their counterparts and ensuring that EU and multilateral funds are delivered to their intended beneficiaries. In 2022, the EU contributed almost €222 million to the World Bank Group. 

In addition to this new arrangement with GIA, OLAF also has an administrative cooperation agreement in place with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), which remains valid and continues to serve as the framework for cooperation between OLAF and INT.