Report fraud

On this page you will find all relevant information and forms to report fraud to OLAF.

What constitutes fraud?

Fraud is a deliberate act of deception intended for personal gain or to cause a loss to another party. (See more in Article 3(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371).

An irregularity is an act which doesn’t comply with EU rules and which has a potentially negative impact on EU financial interests, but which may be the result of genuine errors committed both by beneficiaries claiming funds and by the authorities responsible for making payments. If an irregularity is committed deliberately, however, it’s fraud. (See more in Article 1 of Council Regulation 2988/95)

How to report to OLAF

You can contact us anonymously. There are no formalities. Just give as precise and detailed information as possible, including documents when available. You can communicate with OLAF in any of the 24 official EU languages.

It is possible to report as follows:

OLAF handles personal data in accordance with Regulation (EU)2018/1725. We will provide you with relevant information on data protection when you fill in the web form or send us information.

General information on data protection in OLAF is available in the section data protection of this website.

OLAF can investigate allegations of:

• fraud or other serious irregularities with a potentially negative impact for EU public funds, whether EU revenue, expenditure or assets held by the EU institutions.
• serious misconduct by Members or staff of EU Institutions and bodies.

OLAF cannot investigate allegations of:

• fraud with no financial impact on the EU public funds. Please report such allegations to the competent national authorities.
• corruption which doesn’t involve members or staff of EU Institutions and bodies. Please report such allegations to the competent national authorities.
• cybercrime, such as fraud with online payments, fake e-commerce sites or virtual currencies scam. If you have fallen victim to cybercrime, this Europol webpage explains how to report it.  
• fraudulent use of the EU logo or the name of EU institutions.

I have sent an allegation to OLAF - What happens next?

After you have submitted an allegation to OLAF, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your message, if you have indicated a return address.

OLAF will analyse the allegation submitted to check various elements, for example:

• whether the matter falls within OLAF's competence to act (as discussed on top of this page)
• whether the information is sufficient to justify the opening of an OLAF investigation or coordination case.

If you have indicated in the Fraud Notification System that you are willing to create a secure mailbox, OLAF may contact you to obtain clarifications and/or request further information.

Upon conclusion of this initial assessment, called "selection procedure", the Director-General of OLAF will decide whether to open an investigation or not. If it is determined that the matter you have raised does not satisfy the criteria for opening an investigation, it will be dismissed. If this occurs, OLAF may inform you about this, but this is not done systematically.

What can I expect if OLAF opens an investigation concerning my allegation?

If OLAF decides to open an investigation or coordination case, the investigator assigned to the case may contact you for further information. Please note, however, that unless you are contacted directly by the investigator, there will be no communication from OLAF during the course of the investigation. There is no specific timeline for the investigator to contact you, thus you may be contacted immediately or after several months. In order to protect the confidentiality of investigative processes OLAF will not, under any circumstances, provide you with the "status" of the investigation.

At the conclusion of the investigation, OLAF may inform you of the action taken, if you have given us a contact address.

EU staff members reporting fraud

If you are an EU staff member you have an obligation to report possible cases of fraud, corruption, other illegal activity, or professional conduct which may constitute a serious failure to comply with the obligations of EU staff members.

You can either inform a member of management in your institution or OLAF about your suspicions. If you want to inform OLAF directly, please follow the steps described above, under the heading How to report to OLAF.

For more information about the rights and obligations of whistleblower within the EU Institutions, please see Article 22a and 22b of the Staff Regulations.