OLAF signs cooperation agreement with French CNGTC and Infogreffe

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) signed a cooperation agreement with the French National Council of Commercial Court Clerks (Conseil National des Greffiers des Tribunaux de Commerce, CNGTC) and GIE Infogreffe who provides the distribution of legal and economic information on business companies on behalf of all of the Registries of all French commercial courts.

This agreement provides OLAF with access to information from the Trade and Companies Register and to other legal registers kept by the clerks of the French commercial courts. The National Council of Commercial Court Clerks is a key player in the French anti-fraud system with a constant and recognised commitment to economic policing. The registrars guarantee, through their control and certification tasks, the reliability and authenticity of the information recorded, disseminated and made available to economic operators. For its part, GIE Infogreffe guarantees real-time availability of the legal and financial information certified by the Clerks of the Commercial Courts.

This agreement leads to faster and more efficient gathering of data for operational analysis in the context of OLAF investigations and fraud-prevention activities. Access to information is crucial for OLAF’s work in protecting the EU Budget from fraud.

This agreement, signed in Paris by the Deputy Director-General of OLAF, Mr Andreas Schwarz and the presidents of CNGTC and Infogreffe, Mr Thomas Denfer and Mr Dieudonné Mpouki respectively, is the result of the good discussions between the different services and lays the ground for future cooperation against fraud and irregularities.

On the occasion of his visit to CNGTC and Infogreffe in Paris, Mr Schwarz also addressed the Annual Conference of the European Business Registry Association, where he stressed the importance of direct access to information and the positive results that are achieved from closer cooperation between OLAF and the Member States.