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EPPO Croatia arrests four individuals on suspicion of abuse of office and subsidy fraud in case involving family farms

October 8, 2024

The first suspect was – at the time of alleged fraudulent acts – an employee of the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development. He allegedly used the username and password of another employee of the Agency and, without legal basis, entered false data in the appropriate system. By doing so, he overstated the size of the family farms owned by himself and the three other suspects and thus presenting a larger agricultural area eligible for subsidies from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)…

GRECO urges Slovakia to make tangible progress to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity in Govt and police

September 27, 2024

This high-level visit followed the finding by GRECO in December 2023 that the Slovak Republic had not demonstrated sufficient progress in the implementation of the recommendations addressed to the country under its 5th Evaluation Round, triggering the application of GRECO’s non-compliance procedure…

GRECO evaluates anti-corruption progress in Ireland examining the effectiveness of measures aimed at preventing corruption among individuals holding top executive functions

September 26, 2024

Concludes that Ireland has satisfactorily implemented one of the eighteen recommendations set out in the evaluation report. Four recommendations have been partly implemented and thirteen have not been implemented.

Basel Institute blogs on ‘What do Bulgarian citizens think about corruption, integrity and anti-corruption efforts?’

September 25, 2024

Basel carried out a public perception survey together with Global Metrics. The survey reveals that although corruption remains a top public concern in the country, citizens: are mostly unaware of any government anti-corruption reform initiatives; are not likely to report corrupt behaviour; and are increasingly losing trust in the democratic system of governance.

TI EU commends the European Court of Justice for its ruling, stating that the European Parliament failed to adequately protect a whistleblower

September 13, 2024

Corruption thrives when those affected by it fear they will lose their jobs or be punished when they speak up. Despite MEPs adopting numerous resolutions, most recently in the wake of Qatargate, to bring their rules in line with the EU’s Whistleblower Directive, the Parliament has failed to ensure this. The Court’s decision must be the catalyst that finally prompts the Parliament to put robust whistleblower protection in place…

OECD report on combatting high-level corruption in Eastern Europe highlights the challenge of addressing corruption among top officials and weak institutional frameworks

September 12, 2024

The report calls for enhanced anti-corruption measures, including better enforcement of laws and increased transparency. It also provides recommendations for reforming legal and institutional frameworks to better combat high-level corruption and improve governance…

GRECO publishes a report evaluating how Kazakhstan has addressed and implemented its recommendations on anti-corruption measures

September 6, 2024

The report assesses Kazakhstan’s compliance with the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption standards regarding the independence, powers and means available to national bodies responsible for the prevention and fight against corruption, the extent and scope of immunities from investigation and prosecution for corruption offences, possibilities for seizure and confiscation of proceeds of corruption, corruption within the public administration, and the liability of legal persons for corruption offences…

GRECO urges Italy to improve the effectiveness of its system to promote integrity and prevent corruption in the government and the law enforcement authorities

August 30, 2024

The Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation report considers the effectiveness of the framework in place in Italy to prevent corruption among persons with top executive functions and members of the State Police, the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza.

EPPO in Lithuania broadens a fraud investigation involving a former MEP, suspected of abuse of office, document falsification, illegal use of electronic documents, and acquiring high-value foreign assets

August 29, 2024

The investigation initially focused on the suspected non-performance or imitation of the actual duties of a parliamentary assistant, with the intent of fraudulently obtaining remuneration between 2014 and 2019, and unemployment benefits from 2019 to 2020. The potential damage to the financial interests of the EU exceeds half a million euros…

Europol arrests of Spanish lawyer for EUR 4.5 million fishery project bribe in Equatorial Guinea

August 9, 2024

The suspect’s company, which was registered in Spain, had reported limited commercial activity since its establishment. It had never developed any project, neither in Spain nor in any other country. However, between 2020 and 2022 the company reported two income streams for a total amount of over EUR 4.5 million. Further investigation showed that individuals close to the Equatorial Guinea government were among the beneficiaries of these sums.

GRECO publishes fifth round compliance report evaluating corruption prevention in Montenegro

August 8, 2024

GRECO concludes that Montenegro has implemented satisfactorily three of the twenty-two recommendations set out in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report. Of the outstanding nineteen recommendations, eleven have been partly implemented and eight have not been implemented.

GRECO makes public its Fifth Round Addendum to the Second Compliance Report on Iceland

August 1, 2024

GRECO concludes that Iceland has implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner nine of the eighteen recommendations contained in the Fifth Round Evaluation Report. Of the remaining recommendations, eight have been partly implemented and one not been implemented.