Salla Saastamoinen Appointed as New Deputy Director-General of OLAF

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Salla Saastamoinen as new Deputy Director-General, effective 16 February 2025. Ms Saastamoinen will contribute to strengthening OLAF’s anti-fraud role thanks to her extensive experience in the areas of justice, rule of law, and fundamental rights.

Commenting on her new assignment, Salla Saastamoinen said: “I am honored to join OLAF and contribute to its essential mission. Fraud and corruption not only cause financial losses but also weaken public trust in the EU institutions. A strong and effective anti-fraud architecture is crucial to protect EU funds and ensure accountability. I look forward to working closely with OLAF’s investigators and policymakers to further strengthen existing fraud prevention measures, enhance legal frameworks and reinforce the EU’s ability to counter fraud against the EU budget.”

Ms Saastamoinen, a Finnish national, transitions from her role as Deputy Director-General at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) where she was in charge of five scientific directorates. The JRC is the Commission's science and knowledge service.

With over 25 years of service within the European Commission, Ms Saastamoinen offers broad expertise in the areas of legislation and international negotiations. Her background includes serving as acting Director-General in the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST).  In addition, she was Director for Civil and Commercial Justice in charge of the development of the European area of civil justice. Prior to that, she was Director for Equality. Previously, she also served as Head of several units in the same DG JUST.

Before joining the Commission, Ms Saastamoinen was a Partner in a business law firm, a Researcher in law and Author of several books on environmental law and EU law. 

Ms Saastamoinen speaks Finnish, English, French, German and Swedish.