OLAF: another record fine for fraud in Hungary

Hungary was the most penalised country for fraud involving EU money between 2016 and 2020, according to an annual report by the EU’s anti-fraud office, says Euronews.

The correction rate affects 2.2% of payments, more than seven times the EU average. However, it is still an improvement on last year’s figure of almost four percent. Meanwhile, the authorities’ cooperation with EU bodies has improved: two thirds of cases investigated by the Hungarian authorities have been prosecuted.

By comparison, the EU average over this period was 0.29%, meaning that Hungary’s fine is more than seven times higher.

And it is three times the rate of the second worst, Bulgaria, at 0.69%.

Public Prosecutor’s Office: Hungary prosecutes more OLAF cases than EU average

Hungary prosecutes 67 percent of the cases investigated by the European Union’s anti-fraud body OLAF, close to twice the European Union average of 37 percent, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Monday.

The 2020 annual report of OLAF shows that the body’s recommendations directed at Hungary had fallen from ten in 2016 to six in 2017, four in 2018, three in 2019 and two last year.

Several of the recommended cases were already being investigated at the time of the recommendation, the office said.

It said that Péter Polt, Hungary’s chief prosecutor, had met Ville Itala, OLAF’s Director-General, in Budapest on January 31. They reaffirmed that their cooperation and an effective exchange of information on the misuse of EU funds remain a priority. Polt and Ville agreed that the two bodies would work out an agreement on further strengthening their professional cooperation which is set to be finalised soon.

Read the full report HERE. 

Read alsoCourt rules in fraud case in line with OLAF recommendation

Source: MTI, EUROnews, OLAF