COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Annual overview with information on the results of the Union anti-fraud programme in 2024 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 36th Annual Report on the protection of the European Union's financial interests and the fight against fraud - 2024
Date: 2025-07-25
Institutions: European Anti-Fraud Office, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU budget, EU strategy, activity report, corruption, digitisation, fight against crime, financial control, fraud, fraud against the EU

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.7.2025  SWD(2025) 196 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Annual overview with information on the results of the Union anti-fraud programme in 2024 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 36th Annual Report on the protection of the European Union's financial interests and the fight against fraud - 2024 {COM(2025) 426 final} - {SWD(2025) 197 final} - {SWD(2025) 198 final} - {SWD(2025) 199 final} - {SWD(2025) 228 final} - {SWD(2025) 229 final} - {SWD(2025) 230 final}  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1 

Introduction .......................................................................................................................2 

1.1  Context ........................................................................................................................................ 2 

1.2  Implementation methodology .................................................................................................... 3 

1.3  Purpose and scope of this overview ........................................................................................... 4 

2  UAFP budget implementation in 2024.............................................................................4 

2.1  Activities to prevent and combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities harming 
the financial interests of the EU .......................................................................................................... 6 

2.1.1  Grants .................................................................................................................................. 6 

2.1.2  Call for proposals for technical assistance .......................................................................... 8 

2.1.3  Call for proposals for training, conferences, staff exchanges and studies .......................... 8 

2.1.4  Procurement ...................................................................................................................... 10 

3  UAFP (Hercule component) - achievements in 2024 ....................................................13 

3.1  Examples of technical assistance projects funded under the Hercule III programme and 
the UAFP, finalised in 2024 ............................................................................................................... 14 

3.2  Examples of training projects funded under  the Hercule III programme  and the UAFP, 
finalised in 2024 ................................................................................................................................ 16 

4 

Irregularity Management System (IMS) – implementation in 2024 ...........................19 

4.1  Main activities ........................................................................................................................... 19 

4.2  What does the AWP involve? .................................................................................................... 21 

4.3  Maintenance and development ................................................................................................ 21 

5  AFIS – implementation in 2024 ......................................................................................21 

6  Communication ................................................................................................................21 

6.1  Informing potential applicants .................................................................................................. 22 

6.2  Dissemination of results ............................................................................................................ 22 

6.3  Visibility of EU funding .............................................................................................................. 22 

7  Feedback from programme participants ......................................................................23 

8  Ukraine’s association to the programme .......................................................................24 

9 

Interim evaluation of the programme ...........................................................................24 

10 Conclusions and way forward...........................................................................................25 

Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2024 Financing 
Decision ....................................................................................................................................27 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
1 

Introduction 

The fight against fraud, corruption or any other irregularities with a detrimental impact on the 
EU’s financial interests is a shared responsibility between all Member States and the EU. It is 
thus in the interest of the EU, and to the benefit of EU taxpayers more generally, that national 
and regional authorities are sufficiently equipped to carry out this important mission. This is why 
the EU has supported national anti-fraud capacities since 2004 with the three successive Hercule 
programmes, now succeeded by the Union anti-fraud programme (UAFP), established in 2021 
and running until 31 December 2027.   

1.1  Context 
The  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EU)  2021/785  setting  up  the 
UAFP on 29 April 20211. This legal act became applicable retroactively as of 1 January 2021.  

The UAFP combines the financing and implementation of three different, previously separated 
activities, but at its core, it builds on the success of the  previous Hercule III programme. The 
UAFP provides a single framework, bringing together: 

(i) 
(ii) 

(iii) 

the ‘Hercule’ funding part (financial support to technical assistance and training);  
the  Irregularity  Management  System  (IMS,  for  the  reporting  of  irregularities, 
including  fraud,  in  cases  related  to  the  shared-management  funds  and  the  pre-
accession-assistance funds, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility2); and,  
the financing of the Anti-Fraud Information System (AFIS, supporting Member States 
in providing mutual assistance in customs and agricultural matters).   

This single framework increases synergies between its strands and enables an efficient allocation 
of  resources.  For  example,  if  required,  it  provides  a  certain  financial  flexibility  to  reallocate 
funding within the programme’s three strands. 

An annual Commission implementing decision sets out the financing of the UAFP and the annual 
work  programme  (AWP).  This  single  legal  act  provides  for  funding  for  all  eligible  actions 
supported by the programme and for the financing of the AFIS and the IMS within one year of 
implementation. 

The UAFP is based on Articles 33 and 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union (TFEU). It is set up for a period of 7 years, from 2021 to 2027, in line with the multiannual 
financial framework (MFF), laid down in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/20933.  

The UAFP pursues two general objectives. First, it aims to protect the EU’s financial interests. 
Second,  it  aims  to  support  mutual  assistance  between  the  administrative  authorities  of  the 
Member States and cooperation between these authorities and the Commission to ensure that the 
law on customs and agricultural matters is correctly applied. 

The programme pursues three specific objectives: 

1.  to  prevent  and  combat  fraud,  corruption  and  any  other  illegal  activities  affecting  the 

financial interests of the EU; 

1 OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 110-122, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/785/oj. 
2 Please see Chapter 4 of the present staff working document for more details 
3  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2020/2093  of  17  December  2020  laying  down  the  multiannual  financial 

framework for the years 2021 to 2027, OJ L 433433I, 22.12.2020, p. 11. 

2 

 
 
 
2.  to  support  the  reporting  of  irregularities,  including  fraud,  with  regard  to  the  shared 

management funds and the pre-accession assistance funds of the EU budget; and, 

3.  to  provide  tools  for  information  exchange  and  support  for  operational  activities  in  the 

field of mutual administrative assistance in customs and agricultural matters. 

To implement the UAFP, the EU has allocated a budget of EUR 181 207 000 in current prices to 
cover the period from 2021 to 2027, as shown in Graph 1. 

Graph 1 – Budget allocation 

2021-2027 budget allocation

IMS - €7 m

AFIS - €60 m

Hercule - €114,2 
m

Hercule - €114,2 m

AFIS - €60 m

IMS - €7 m

1.2 

Implementation methodology 

The first component of the programme provides the Member States with targeted assistance in 
achieving their obligations to protect the EU’s financial interests. This component will financially 
support the purchase of specialised anti-fraud equipment and tools, specific training as well as 
targeted conferences and specialised studies. 

The Commission implements this component by:  

1.  awarding grants following annual calls for proposals;  
2.  concluding public procurement contracts following calls for tender; 
3.  entering  into  administrative  agreements  with  the  Commission’s  Joint  Research  Centre 

(JRC); 

4.  reimbursing costs incurred by representatives from eligible countries who participate in 

training and operational activities; and, 

5.  offering targeted financial support to relevant international organisations actively helping 

to protect the EU’s financial interests. 

The second component consists of (i) the operation and maintenance of the AFIS platform for 
the exchange of mutual-assistance information; and (ii) supported activities, such as joint customs 
operations, practical courses, and preparatory or evaluation meetings for operational actions.  

Under the third component, the Commission maintains the IMS and makes it available to Member 
States and other beneficiaries of EU funds to facilitate their compliance with the obligation (laid 

3 

 
 
 
down  in  various  sectorial  forms  of  legislation)  to  report  detected  financial  irregularities  or 
suspected fraud.  

In practice, the programme is implemented under direct management. The European Anti-Fraud 
Office (OLAF) is the lead service for this programme implementation. 

The UAFP Regulation identifies four categories of eligible entities: 

1.  public authorities that can help achieve an UAFP objective and are established:  

i) 
in a Member State or an overseas country or territory associated with the UAFP; 
ii)  in a third country associated with the UAFP under the conditions specified in Article 

4 of the UAFP Regulation; or, 

iii) in  a  third  country  not  associated  with  the  UAFP  under  the  conditions  specified  in 

Article 10(3) of the UAFP Regulation. 

2.  research and educational institutes and non-profit making entities that can help to achieve 
the objectives of the UAFP and have been established and operating for at least 1 year:  
i) 
ii)  in a third country associated with the UAFP under the conditions specified in Article 

in a Member State; 

4 of the UAFP Regulation; or  

iii)  in  a  third  country  not  associated  with  the  UAFP  under  the  conditions  specified  in 

Article 10(3) of the UAFP Regulation. 

3.  any legal entity created under Union law; or, 
4.  any international organisation. 

1.3  Purpose and scope of this overview 

Article 12(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/785  obliges  the Commission to  report annually on the 
performance of the programme to the European Parliament and to the Council as part of its annual 
report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests – fight against fraud. Article 12(3) also 
stipulates that when discussing the UAFP, the European Parliament may make recommendations 
for the AWP, and that the Commission must duly take these into account. 

To this end, this overview covers: (i) information on actions for which financial commitments 
were made under the 2024 Financing Decision and AWP4, adopted on 5 February 2024; and (ii) 
the results of actions finalised in 2024, but for which financial commitments were made either 
under  the  Hercule  III  programme  still,  or  under  the  Union  anti-fraud  programme  in  previous 
years.  

The  overview  also  contains  information  on  AFIS  and  IMS  activities  for  which  financial 
commitments were made under the same 2024 AWP.  

2  UAFP budget implementation in 2024 

To  implement  the  UAFP  in  2024,  the  budgetary  authority  had  allocated  EUR 25.5 million  in 
commitment appropriations and EUR 23.2 million in payment appropriations. The programme is 
financed under item 03.03 of the EU budget, as shown in Table 1 (split by year). 

C(2024) 645 of 5 February 2024. 

4 

 
 
 
 
Table 1: Financial programming in 2021-2027 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

(in EUR) 

Total 

24,055,021 

24,371,021  24,852,023  25,508,023  26,353,026  27,404,026  28,678,028 

Programme 
total 
181,221,168 

Table 2 shows the commitments made under the available budget for 2024, broken down by the 
programme’s three components. 

Table 2: Available budget and commitments made in 2024 

TYPES OF ELIGIBLE ACTIONS (2024) 

BUDGET 
(EUR) 

COMMITTED 
(EUR) 

COMMITTED 
(%) 

COMPONENT 1: PROTECTION OF THE EU’S FINANCIAL INTERESTS 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

Grants: technical assistance 

Grants 

10 400 000 

10 181 410 

IT databases 

IT tools and tobacco analysis  
ANTI-FRAUD TRAINING 

Grants: anti-fraud training 

Procured conferences  

Digital forensics and analyst training  

Contribution for using corporate IT tools 

Procurement 

1 330 000 

Procurement 

775 789 

Grants 

Procurement 

Procurement 

1 000 000 

1 400 000 

1 000 000 

170 000 

866 870 

770 316 

1 017 028 

1 130 000 

1 050 009 

161 647 

TOTAL COMPONENT 1  

16 075 789 

15 178 183 

COMPONENT 2: AFIS PLATFORM 

IT studies, development and maintenance 

Procurement 

4 023 000 

3 778 906.97 

Production services 
Technical  assistance,  training,  coordination 
and quality-control services 
Acquisition,  maintenance  and  updating  of 
software  and  hardware,  and  related  IT 
services 
Funds  co-delegated 
the  Directorate-
General  for  Taxation  and  Customs  Union 
(DG TAXUD) 
TOTAL COMPONENT 2 

to 

Procurement 

2 500 000 

2 454 009.32 

Procurement 

660 000 

610 051.61 

Procurement 

1 027 242 

1 277 765.64 

124.39 

Procurement 

234 849 

234 848.69 

8 445 091 

8 355 582.23 

Development and maintenance 

Production services 

TOTAL COMPONENT 3 

COMPONENT 3: IMS TOOL 

Procurement 

Procurement 

509 119 

476 000 

508 848,83  

475 967,13  

985 119 

984 815,96 

5 Cost savings were made following the tender procedure. The remaining amounts will be allocated to the grants put 

on the reserve lists of eligible projects for granting.  

6 Cost savings were made in some of the OLAF procured events. 

5 

97.9 
     65.25 

99.3 

101.7 
80.86 

105.0 

95.1 

94.4 

93.93 

98.16 

92.43 

100 

98.94 

99.95 

99.99 

99.97 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
GRAND TOTAL 

25 505 999 

  24 518 581.19 

96.13 

2.1  Activities  to  prevent  and  combat  fraud,  corruption  and  any  other  illegal  activities 

harming the financial interests of the EU 

In 2024, the UAFP’s fourth year of implementation, the available commitment appropriations for 
the  programme’s  first  strand  (formerly  ‘Hercule’  actions)  were  used  to:  (i)  finance  granted 
projects; and (ii) conclude specific contracts (procurement) and administrative arrangements for 
providing  access  to  commercial  databases,  specialised  IT  tools  and  specific  training  and 
conference events, in line with the activities included in the adopted AWP for 20247.  

The commitment amounts earmarked  for the  2024  granting cycle (approx. EUR 10.4  million) 
were implemented by signing contracts for the awarded grant files and paying pre-financing.  

Following  a  successful  publication  and  evaluation  of  the  2024  technical  assistance  call  for 
proposals,  amounts  not  spent  under  procured  databases  and  procured  conferences  have  been 
transferred to this specific call, where a large reserve list had been established.  

Payments under the grant  agreements and under some of the procurement  contracts  signed in 
2024 will be reported at a later stage than the present report, since these payments will only be 
made in the course of 2025 and in the following years. 

Graph  2  provides  a  breakdown  of  the  planned  budget  and  commitments  for  2024  by  type  of 
action. Technical assistance actions under Regulation (EU) 2021/785 encompass: (i) technical 
assistance  for  grant  activities;  and  (ii)  IT  support  (databases  and  IT  tools).  Training  actions 
include: (i) grant activities under calls for proposals for training, conferences, staff exchanges 
and studies; and (ii) procured conferences and specialised training. 

Graph 2: UAFP (Hercule component) budget and commitments in 2024 of eligible actions 

2.1.1  Grants 
Grants are direct financial contributions to co-finance an action intended to help achieve an EU 
policy objective. The overall UAFP budget allocated to grants in 2024 was EUR 11.4 million. 
Following calls for proposals inviting applicants to submit proposals for actions that help achieve 
the  programme’s  objectives,  grants  are  being  evaluated,  scored,  ranked  and  awarded.  The 

7  Commission Implementing Decision, C(2024) 645 of 5.02.2023. 

6 

 
 
     
 
 
beneficiary of a grant becomes the legal and economic owner of the goods or services purchased 
with grant financing.  

In February 2024, the Commission published two calls for proposals on its ‘Funding and Tenders 
Portal’ online.  

The two calls covered the following topics:  

1.  technical assistance, with an indicative budget of EUR 10.4 million; and 
2.  training, conferences, staff exchanges and studies, with an indicative budget of EUR 1 

million.  

The  deadline  to  submit  applications  was  7 May 2024  for  both  technical  assistance  (TA)  and 
training  related  proposals  (TRAI).  The  Commission  received  a  total  of  123  applications 
originating from 19 Member States. First, each application was assessed on its eligibility or on a 
possible  exclusion.  Then,  a  dedicated  evaluation  committee  with  Commission  expert  staff 
members assessed the content of each of the eligible applications. The committee evaluated and 
scored the following four award criteria:  

1.  conformity with the objectives of the UAFP; 
2.  quality of the proposal; 
3.  value for money; and 
4.  added value for the protection of the EU’s financial interests. 

All the applicants were informed of its final outcome by the end of December 2024.   

Graph 3 gives an overview of the total value and number of grants for technical assistance and 
training awarded in 2024, by Member State. Grants were awarded in 12 Member States. 

Graph 3: UAFP (Hercule component) commitments (in EUR) and number of grants in 
2024 by Member State and by activity sector 

7 

 
 
 
2.1.2  Call for proposals for technical assistance 
The 2024 budget for technical assistance grants was EUR 10.4 million. It was available to fund 
actions proposed by national and regional authorities for the following types of activities: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

purchasing and maintaining investigation and surveillance tools and methods used 
in the fight against irregularities, fraud and corruption detrimental to the financial 
interests  of  the  EU,  including  specialised  training  needed  to  operate  the 
investigation tools purchased; 
purchasing digital-forensics hardware including equipment and software, mobile 
forensic  tools  and  computer  forensic  collaborative  systems  used  in  the  fight 
against (fraudulent) irregularities, fraud  and corruption detrimental  to  the EU’s 
financial interests;  
purchasing  data-analytics  technologies  and  data  including  the  acquisition  and 
maintenance of: (i) commercial specialised databases; (ii) data-analysis platforms 
capable  of  running  analyses  in  big-data  environments,  risk  and  predictive 
analyses,  and  data-mining  tools;  and  (iii)  systems  supported  by  artificial 
intelligence  used  in  the  fight  against  irregularities,  fraudulent  activities  and 
corruption detrimental to the EU’s financial interests; and 
purchasing equipment for the detection of illicit trade8 to strengthen beneficiaries’ 
operational  and technical  capacity to  detect  smuggled and counterfeited  goods, 
including  cigarettes  and  tobacco,  imported  into  the  EU  with  the  intention  of 
evading value added tax, customs duties and/or excise taxes.  

By the deadline of 7 May 2024, the Commission received 88 applications from 16 Member States 
for actions in the field of technical assistance. The total (cost) of the proposed actions was EUR 
48.1 million and the requested co-funding amounted to EUR 38.3 million (which oversubscribes 
three times the available budget of EUR 10.4 million). Following the evaluation  committee’s 
recommendations,  limited  by  the  budget  available  to  the  programme,  the  authorising  officer 
decided to award 21 grants and to place 11 proposals on a reserve list. See Table 1 in Annex I, 
providing an overview of the beneficiaries, project titles, grant amounts, and the co-financing 
rate. 

The overall amount of funding awarded to technical assistance grants under the 2024 budget was 
EUR 9.9 million for 21 projects from 8 Member States. In addition to the 21 proposals initially 
awarded, the authorising officer decided to award one more  grant  from  the reserve list,  using 
unused funds initially earmarked for procured activities. Grants were awarded for the purchase 
of investigation equipment (including forensic equipment), data-analysis systems, IT tools and 
detection equipment. The UAFP grants financed 80% of the eligible costs of the selected actions.  

To  best  describe  the  implementation  of  technical  assistance  grants  in  2024,  a  selection  of 
examples of finalised projects is presented in Chapter 3. 

2.1.3  Call for proposals for training, conferences, staff exchanges and studies 
The  UAFP  provides  grants  to  beneficiaries  for  organising  targeted  specialised  trainings, 
conferences and staff exchanges, as well as for carrying out legal studies. These activities aim to 

8  OLAF,  in close cooperation with DG  TAXUD, ensured that there was no overlap with projects submitted for 
support under the Customs Control Equipment Instrument (CCEI). 

8 

 
 
 
strengthen cross-border cooperation and networking activities between experts and to facilitate 
the exchange of best practices on protecting the financial interests of the EU.  

The following four types of activities were proposed for funding, with an indicative budget of 
EUR 1 million:  

1.  specialised training sessions to improve knowledge and use of IT tools, and to increase 
anti-fraud data-analysis  abilities by acquiring  new skills  and knowledge  of specialised 
methodologies and techniques; 

2.  conferences,  workshops  and  seminars  to:  (i)  facilitate  the  exchange  of  information, 
experience and best practices, including in the field of IT anti-fraud and anti-corruption 
systems  and  data  analysis;  (ii)  create  networks  and  improve  coordination  between 
Member  States,  candidate  countries,  other  third  countries,  EU  institutions  and 
international organisations; (iii) facilitate multidisciplinary cooperation and awareness-
raising  between  anti-fraud  and  anti-corruption  practitioners  (in  particular  customs 
authorities  and  other  law-enforcement  bodies)  and  academics  on  protecting  the  EU’s 
financial interests, including support to associations for European criminal law and for 
the protection of the EU’s financial interests; and (iv) raise the awareness of the judiciary 
and other legal professionals of this matter; 

3.  staff exchanges between national and regional administrations (including from candidate 
and  neighbouring  countries)  to  help  further  develop,  improve  and  update  staff’s 
competences in protecting the EU’s financial interests; and 

4.  developing comparative law studies to enhance the legal and judicial protection of  the 
EU’s  financial  interests,  including  the  dissemination  of  relevant  scientific  knowledge 
through periodical publications. 

The call for training related proposals received 34 applications from 13 Member States. The total 
amount of requested grants would require a budget of EUR 4 million (or four times the available 
budget).   

Eight  applications  were  selected  for  an  award  under  this  call,  for  an  overall  amount  of 
approximately EUR 1 million within the available budget. Six applications were put on a reserve 
list, which were not awarded due to insufficient  additional funding available. All applications 
received a co-financing rate of 80% of the eligible costs. 

Grants  were  awarded  for,  amongst  others:  (i)  organising  training  and  conferences  for 
strengthening the capacities of the police authorities in the use of special investigation techniques 
to combat fraud, corruption and tobacco smuggling affecting the EU budget, and of national and 
regional  authorities)  through  the  use  of  IT  tools  and  risk  management  for  the  prevention  and 
detection  of  fraud  in  the  EU  funds  management;  (ii)  the  organisation  of  a  conference  of  the 
associations for European criminal law and for the protection of the EU financial interests; (iii) a 
comparative law study on fraud prevention, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering measures, 
and  corporate  crime;  and  (iv)  publishing  a  periodical  on  the  protection  of  the  EU’s  financial 
interests. 

Table 4 in Annex I gives an overview of the awarded grants and the corresponding co-financing 
rates. 

9 

 
 
2.1.4  Procurement 

About 28% of the 2024 budget allocated to the first component of the UAFP (or about EUR 4.51 
million)  was  allocated  to  fund  activities  by  concluding  procurement  contracts  linked  to  the 
protection of the EU’s financial interests. 

In 2024, the Commission concluded specific contracts under existing framework contracts for 
technical assistance support and training activities. The purchased equipment, tools and services 
were made available to UAFP beneficiaries (mainly Member State authorities). 

2.1.4.1  IT support: databases, IT tools and analyses of samples from tobacco seizures 
2.1.4.1.1  Databases 
In  2024,  the  overall  amount  committed  to  procured  contracts  was  EUR 1  068  495.  The 
programme  provides  funds  for  the  procurement  of  subscriptions  to  commercial  databases,  on 
behalf of law enforcement authorities in Member States, to support operations and investigations, 
in particular in the area of protecting the EU’s financial interests.  

The  Commission  procures  and  manages  the  access  to  these  databases  enabling  substantial 
economies of scale and a common data framework. Relevant staff are trained to ensure optimal 
usage. OLAF staff also  uses these databases  for  operational  activities jointly undertaken with 
their Member State partners and for their own investigations9.  

In 2024, the programme provided Member States with access to commercial databases, such as 
worldwide  trade  statistics,  detailed  company  information  and  global  vessel  movements.  The 
databases were highly used by customs and other law-enforcement authorities, supporting both 
investigations and risk analyses. Table 3 in Annex I gives an overview of the contracts awarded 
in 2024.  

2.1.4.1.2  Development of specific IT tools for data analysis with the JRC 
In  2024,  OLAF  and  the  JRC  continued  working  together  under  the  administrative  agreement 
(AA) for Customs Anti-Fraud Enabling technologies (CAFET2)10.  

CAFET2 is part of a wider effort to provide knowledge to and facilitate the work of Member 
States’ customs services to use data and analytical approaches effectively and efficiently in their 
anti-fraud activities. In line with the objectives of the UAFP, the ultimate beneficiaries of this 
project are customs authorities in the Member States. In 2024, the UAFP allocated EUR 498 745 
under the CAFET2 umbrella. 

The CAFET project consists of 3 work packages: 

•  Work package 1: Automated Monitoring Tool (AMT)  

The AMT is an IT-application that includes a series of algorithms for the retrieval and processing 
of  data  needed  for  the  visualisation  of  indicators  based  on  external  trade  data  published  by 
Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. The indicators are time-series showing kilo-prices, and 

9   The use of databases made by OLAF staff is paid from the administrative budget of the Commission.    
10  Originally funded by the Hercule III programme, the initial agreement was signed at the end of 2017 between 
OLAF and the JRC to provide ‘scientific and technical support in advancing the EU’s customs anti-fraud data-
analytics capacity’. The current agreement ran from 2021 to 2023, which has been extended and consists of five 
work packages. 

10 

 
 
 
price  ranges,  of  imports  into  the  EU,  broken  down  by  reference  period  (calendar  month), 
Commodity Code (Product), exporting third country of origin (Origin) and Importing Member 
State (Destination).  

The AMT tool allows customs administrations to compare the amount declared on a new import 
declaration  to  identical  imports  made  during  a  period  of  up  to  four  years  preceding  the  new 
import, and to detect any signal, which could necessitate further examination of the declaration 
to rule out irregularities or suspicions of fraud, such as undervaluation of the product concerned. 
The  AMT  provides  important  information  to  OLAF  for  the  assessment  of  evidence  during 
investigations  and  to  customs  administrations  and  OLAF  during  Joint  Customs  Operations 
(JCOs). 

In 2024, the JRC, among others, supported the AFIS team at OLAF with regular monthly data 
processing and generation; as well as publication in the AFIS environment of AMT indicators. 
The  JRC  also  analysed  the  option  to  replace  COMEXT  data  as  the  primary  source  for  AMT 
indicators with the ‘Surveillance’ database and also analysed the feasibility and requirements for 
this potential substitution. 

•  Work package 2: Container-movement analytics (CSM/COS) 

This WP aims at exploiting information on container movements for customs anti-fraud purposes. 
One example is detecting mis-description of origin of goods imported into the EU, piloted under 
the previous AA and implemented in AFIS as Container Origin Signals (COS). The main data 
sources are the Container Status Messages (CSM) data, on the one hand, and data from Single 
Administrative  Documents  (SAD),  used  by  economic  operators  when  submitting  an  import 
declaration,  on  the  other  hand.  The  CSM  data  relate  to  the  location  and  status  of  containers 
transported by maritime vessels to and from the EU. 

The  transmission  of  CSM  data  is  required  under  the  amended  Council  Regulation  515/97  for 
shipping  companies  transporting  containers  on  their  vessels.  This  WP  builds  on  the  results 
achieved under the previous CAFET project (2021-2023), as well as on the valuable feedback 
supplied by the users in the Member States who provided suggestions and ideas for new queries 
of the linked databases. 

During  the  year  2024,  the  project  provided  the  services  needed  to  ensure  the  regular  data 
acquisition, analysis and provision of results to end users. The services included the maintenance 
of the IT infrastructure (Oracle database, website and servers for the data processing), the AFIS-
CSM  data  collection  and  management,  and  the  data  cleaning  and  information  extraction 
processes.  

A new Oracle database server (using Oracle version 19c) has been operational since September 
2024. The new database ensured better performance of the ‘ConTraffic’ website and faster data 
processes which have been running without any major disruption or security incident in 2024. 

Among others, the JRC also looked into the issue of providing an updated (from 2012) list of 
data sources on container carriers for the customs officials.  

The exercise conducted in this work package led to the list of 55 carriers who publish their web 
tracking service within their own portal, as of May 2024. A second list of websites shows main 

11 

 
 
third-party companies that offer tracking services for multiple carriers and finally  they list the 
web providers that offer vessel and ship tracking services in web ‘GIS-mode’. 

•  Work package 3: Support to Intelligence Analysis (SIA)  

OLAF draws on a wide range of data sources for carrying out operational data analyses in support 
of its investigations and Joint Customs Operations (JCO), which OLAF carries out with different 
groups of Member States and also, less often, third countries. The number, size, structure and 
coverage of data sources has increased exponentially in recent years: data on, for example, e-
commerce  transactions  or  the  spatial  distribution  of  tobacco  product  flows,  have  become 
available for further analyses. The work in this WP is focused on the study and evaluation of 
methods which use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, and in particular Large Language 
Models (LLM), to support the analyses of customs data. 

The JRC is tasked with the study and prototyping of a methodology that supports the development 
of AI-assisted ‘Shiny  apps’ which analyse customs trade data. The work is at the exploratory 
research level currently, evaluating the feasibility and usefulness of this approach. 

•  Outreach 

As in previous years, progress updates on CAFET2 were provided at the regular meetings of the 
Expert Group on Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters (EMAC). 

2.1.4.1.3  Tobacco analyses (TOBLAB) 
In order to help Member States in their efforts to combat the illicit trade in tobacco products, 
OLAF takes the view that Member States’ authorities should have access to independent state-
of-the-art specialised testing facilities of tobacco products for investigative purposes.   

For that purpose, the JRC centre located in Geel (Belgium) set up in 2016 a laboratory for the 
analysis  of  tobacco  products,  TOBLAB,  financed  already  through  the  previous  Hercule  III 
programme.  

A  close  cooperation  between  TOBLAB  and  Member  States’  customs  laboratories  and  law 
enforcement authorities is considered as leading to the most efficient and cost-effective use of 
the testing facilities needed.  

Member States and OLAF can submit requests for analysis of tobacco products using a dedicated 
IT application (ToSMA) administered by OLAF on the Anti-Fraud Information System (AFIS) 
platform. In the contracting period  from 20 July 2023 to 19 July 2024, the JRC received  143 
requests  from  15  Member  States  for  analysis  of  seized  cigarettes  and  raw/fine-cut  tobacco 
samples, of  which 122  were processed during the contracting period.  It was possible to  draw 
connections  between  cigarettes  seized  in  various  places  in  the  EU  at  various  moments  (65 
samples could be connected to previous seizures).  

The  JRC  maintains  a  repository  of  commercially  available  cigarettes  purchased  at  licensed 
tobacconists  across  the  world.  The  repository  now  contains  1211  tobacco  products  from  77 
countries. 

The annual Administrative Agreement (AA) with the JRC in Geel was continued in 2024  with 
programme funding for a second year of this AA, amounting to EUR 260 531. 

12 

 
 
 
2.1.4.2  Procured conferences 
The  programme  also  finances  high-level  conferences  and  training  activities  focused  on  the 
protection of the EU’s financial interests, organised by the Commission (OLAF). Six high-level 
events  took  place,  financed  by  the  2024  programme  budget.  The  overall  budget  available  for 
procured conferences was EUR 1.4 million for 2024.  

Table 5 in Annex I provides an overview of the events that took place under the 2024 budget. 

2.1.4.3  Procured digital forensic analysis and analysts training  
The  digital  forensic  analysis  and  analysts  training  (DFAT),  organised  by  OLAF,  aims  to 
strengthen law-enforcement agencies’ ability to combat fraud, including cigarette smuggling and 
counterfeiting. It provides improved detection skills to extract and use data from digital devices.  

This  annual  training  helps  create  a  network  of  certified  digital-forensics  specialists  in  all  the 
Member States and candidate countries, starting back in 2007. 

Investigations related to EU funds have become more complex, with increasingly more data that 
need to be processed. This has led to a growing need to continuously train forensic and digital 
analysts. To address this need, courses for analysts were added to the original digital-forensics 
training since 2018. The aim is to improve digital forensics investigations by ensuring that data 
are  processed  in  a  way  that  strengthens  the  quality,  accuracy  and  efficiency  of  investigations 
related to EU funds. 

Financed  by  the  2024  budget,  one  physical  training  session  was  organised  in  2024  with  120 
participants  originating  from  Member  States  and  candidate  countries.  The  various  subjects 
proposed covered the most requested by Member State authorities, such as advanced ‘Windows’ 
forensics, open-source intelligence (OSINT), operational analysis, etc. The 2024 budget of EUR 
0.8 million has been committed for this activity under the 2024 programme budget.  

From the same budget, a virtual DFAT session is planned to take place in June 2025, with 60 
participants from  all  Member States’ national  authorities. The trainees will  receive up-to-date 
specialised courses in advanced forenscis and operational analysis.  

3  UAFP (Hercule component) - achievements in 2024 

This section provides an overview of the main results achieved by beneficiaries implementing 
granted projects awarded under the programme in previous years, and of the outcomes of the 
procured projects also financed by the UAFP and those finalised in 2024.  

Beneficiaries report on the outcomes of grant projects in the final technical report they submit 
with their final payment requests. Final technical reports also describe issues encountered during 
the implementation of the action, such as (unexpected) delays or staff changes. The reports set 
out how these issues were resolved and list possible impacts on the outcome of a project.  

Beneficiaries  of  technical  assistance  grants  are  requested  to  submit  a  final  implementation 
questionnaire  one  year  after  the  grant  contract’s  closing  date.  This  questionnaire  contains 
information on the results achieved by using the equipment and the beneficiary’s assessment of 
the equipment’s contribution to achieving the programme’s objectives.  

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The reported implementation results illustrate how the purchased technical equipment, such as 
detection  tools,  enabled  the  beneficiaries  to  seize  substantial  amounts  of smuggled  cigarettes, 
counterfeit goods and tobacco or other products. National authorities reported that equipment to 
support investigations, such as communication equipment, cameras, IT tools and forensic soft- 
and  hardware,  strongly  facilitated  the  lawful  and  efficient  gathering  of  evidence  during 
operations, supporting as such effectively investigations aimed at protecting the EU’s revenues, 
expenditures and assets. 

Beneficiaries of grants for training activities (conferences, seminars and training sessions) also 
carried out participant surveys to measure the relevance, quality and overall user satisfaction of 
the event. The findings of these surveys are included in the final technical report submitted at the 
end of the action. 

Training  activities  finalised  in  2024  concerned  a  wide  range  of  areas  and  topics,  such  as:  (i) 
training for enhancing the capacities of police and customs authorities in investigations of fraud 
against the EU budget,  in  particular in  the use of EU funds, fighting cigarette smuggling, the 
cooperation between the national authorities and the EPPO; (ii) training for public administration 
in  preventing  and  combatting  corruption  in  public  procurement  with  EU  funds;  and  (iii) 
implementing the Whistleblowing Directive to combat fraud and corruption for protecting the 
financial interests of the EU. 

Most  of  the  training  projects  were  targeted  at  representatives  of  public  administration 
departments responsible for managing EU funds and law enforcement agencies (police, customs, 
anti-corruption bodies). 

3.1  Examples of technical assistance projects funded under the Hercule III programme 

and the UAFP, finalised in 2024 

Below are examples of awarded grants for technical assistance, finalised in 2024, together with 
examples of implementation results submitted in 2024. 

•  The Ministry of Finance, Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia received a 
grant for the purchase of  inspection equipment and tools. These were distributed to all 41 
border  crossing  points,  which  include  all  the  external  EU  border  crossing  points.  The 
equipment  acquired  has  substantially  facilitated  the  daily  work  of  the  customs  officers. 
Significant  results  have  been  reported  following  the  first  year  of  use.  These  include  the 
confiscation  of  724 920  pieces  of  cigarettes,  2  275  kg  of  tobacco,  4  998  kg  of  ‘hookah’ 
tobacco, 1 680 kg of tobacco molasses. In addition, it also led to the detection and seizure of 
other illicit/dangerous substances including 6 319 kg of heroin, 5 589 kg of cocaine, 128 660 
tablets  with  psychotropic  substances,  440  000  cannabis  seeds,  and  EUR  198  460  of 
undeclared cash. 

•  The  Central  Anticorruption  Bureau  (CBA)  of  Poland  received  a  grant  for  the 
modernisation of its Digital Forensic Network (DFN) and the enhancement of its forensic and 
analytical  capability,  by  providing  high-speed  access  to  digital  evidence.  The  ability  to 
process  and  analyse digital evidence with  greater speed and accuracy directly impacts  the 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
effectiveness  of criminal investigations and the subsequent  legal  processes. Moreover, the 
infrastructure lays the groundwork for the integration of sophisticated analytical  tools and 
artificial  intelligence  (AI)  systems,  which  can  leverage  the  computational  power,  further 
enhancing the quality and speed of evidence analysis. 60 members of staff were trained and 
certified. 

•  The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) of the Republic of Latvia 
completed a project for the acquisition of digital forensic software and hardware equipment 
to use mainly in the field of corruption prevention. The equipment has greatly contributed to 
KNAB’s  criminal  intelligence  and  investigative  capacity  by  significantly  improving  its 
processing capacity, leading to a doubling of the number of processed devices in one year. It 
has been used in several criminal procedures linked to reported damages to European Union 
funds of more than EUR 3.3 million after one year of use. 

•  The  Financial  Crime  Investigation  Service  at  the  Ministry  of  Internal  Affairs  of 
Lithuania received a grant for the purchase of special investigative tools to retrieve, decrypt 
and analyse digital evidence used by FCIS criminal intelligence and investigative staff.  The 
project has improved the intelligence and operational capacity of FCIS by providing technical 
support to FCIS regional units. Enhanced digital data collection and analytical capabilities 
have strengthened the skills and analytical competences of FCIS intelligence staff, and has 
expanded data sharing with international information systems in order to facilitate the fight 
against financial crime at national and Union level. More than 60 staff members were trained. 

•  The Customs Administration of the Czech Republic completed a project to acquire highly 
sophisticated  technical  surveillance  devices  adapted  to  new  forms  of  crime.    The  new 
technology acquired through the project increased the effectiveness and the expertise of the 
Special Activities Units of the Customs Administration in the fight against illegal activities 
that  threaten  the  security  and  financial  interest  of  the  EU.  The  project  also  included  the 
specialised training of 56 officers. 

•  The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy purchased  an Unmanned Aerial  System 
(U.A.S.). The 'mini’ class fixed-wing Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) will provide 
for preliminary inspections of sites with real-time delivery of images to one or more remote 
sites;  monitoring  and  video  recording  of  operations  conducted  on  the  ground  with  the 
production of high-resolution images for analysis activities and for supporting evidence. They 
provide valuable technical support for investigative activities carried out by the Guardia di 
Finanza,  through  aerial  surveillance  (land  and  sea)  in  order  to  counteract  smuggling  and 
counterfeiting  of  foreign  processed  tobacco,  as  well  as  other  activities  harmful  to  the 
European Union interests. This project involved the training of 20 personnel. Results reported 
to date include eight cannabis plantations. 

•  The  General  Inspectorate  of  Romanian  Police  received  a  grant  for  the  purchase  of  
specialized  equipment  in  order  to  strengthen  the  operational  and  technical  capacity  of  the 
Directorate for Investigating Economic Crimes, which manages complex fraud cases with the 
aim of dismantling criminal groups operating mainly at the European Union's external border, 
in geographically inaccessible places, on transit routes meant to evade the control at the state 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
border crossing and the taxation of the excisable products transited.  With the support of the 
specialized  equipment  procured  within  the  project  ten  operational  activities  aimed  at 
combating cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products were organized during 
the duration of the project. 

3.2  Examples  of  training  projects  funded  under  the  Hercule  III  programme  and  the 

UAFP, finalised in 2024  

An overview of the training events finalised in 2024 (for which grants had been awarded under 
the  Hercule  III  programme  and  under  the  UAFP)  is  given  in  Annex  I,  Tables  6  (Training, 
conferences and staff exchange) and 7 (Legal training and studies). 

Examples of projects for training and conferences that ended and were reported on in 2024: 

The  Regional  Police  Headquarters  in  Lublin,  Poland,  organised  the  seminar  within  the 
project ‘Combating irregularities in the allocation and use of the EU’s funds – crime schemes, 
mechanisms  and  investigation  strategies’  for  police,  customs  and  other  law  enforcement 
agencies from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria to join efforts in combatting crimes committed 
with the usage of EU funds.  

The seminar on 5th-9th of December 2022 was attended by 39 police and customs officers and 
experts of institutions responsible for the management and control of the EU funds from the 
three countries.  

The project has contributed to:  

• 

facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices by acquiring knowledge on the 
procedures  concerning  granting  the  subjects  with  the  EU  funds  and  getting 
acquaintance with  the actions that can be taken by the law  enforcement  agencies to 
ensure compliance with legal regulations, and detect irregularities and fraud; 

•  enhancing  transnational  cooperation,  creating  networks  and  improving  coordination 
between  law  enforcement  agencies  and  institutions  controlling  or  managing  the  EU 
funds; 
raising the awareness of  the authorities combatting EU funds crimes and other legal 
professionals about the scale of this crime and the need to fight it; 

• 

•  strengthening the operational and investigative capacity of staff involved in fighting 
crimes  against  EU  funds  and  thus  improving  the  protection  of  the  EU’s  financial 
interests. 

A best practice guide including examples of case studies was produced and made available to 
the participating institutions and other relevant organisations. 

The European Institute in Romania (EIR) conducted the training project AFTIPA  ‘Anti-
Fraud Training Initiative for Public Administration’. The project aimed to deliver anti-fraud 
training to professionals who work in public procurement departments, in the control bodies 

16 

 
 
 
 
of ministries and other state institutions and other categories of public administration personnel 
at central and local level that are involved in managing EU funds. 

The objectives were to develop a multidisciplinary package of three courses (Preventing and 
combating corruption, Public procurement and Whistleblowing in public administration) that 
were delivered in two formats: 

1)  Classroom  training  courses  for  the  central  administration,  held  in  Bucharest,  from 
September 2023 until May 2024, gathering 145 participants. 

2) E-learning courses for the local administration, offering access on an e-learning platform 
(www.aftipa.ro ) where over 1 500 users completed the three courses. 

Due to intensive communication, the project's impact widened to a trans-national level, with 
over 280 employees from the Republic of Moldova public administration having registered on 
the platform. 

The  project  developed  a  set  of  interlinked  courses  using  an  integrated  approach  to  help 
participants understand the legal framework in which EU funds can be used while contracting 
different  services;  understand  the  difference  and  correlations  between  errors,  irregularities, 
corruption and fraud; and design measures and procedures for institutions to prevent unethical 
or illegal behaviour, especially potential fraud and unfair practices in the use of EU funds. 

The impact on the short term is that the project offered the participants: 

•  skills to apply the legislation to the use of EU funds in public procurement; 
•  a correct understanding of concepts and technical language on public sector integrity, 

with a focus on preventing integrity incidents; 

•  skills  to  advise  the  management  of  the  institution  in  order  to  solve  concrete  cases, 

including on the correction and prevention side. 

On the medium term, it offered concrete ways to facilitate knowledge and skill dissemination 
within institutions and the introduction, creation and/or improvement of institutional working 
procedures. 

On the long term, it offered knowledge and abilities to reduce the risk of conflict of interest, 
avoiding or manipulating public procurement procedures, bribery, expenditure fraud and other 
crimes and corruption.  It also  helps  to  increase the effectiveness  of  controls,  encourage the 
signalling of irregularities and improve the protection of whistleblowers. 

Examples of projects for legal training and studies that ended and were reported on in 2024: 

The  programme  continued  to  fund  the  journal  EUCRIM  –  European  Law  Forum: 
Prevention-Investigation-Prosecution published by the Max Planck Institute for the Study 
of  Crime,  Security  and  Law  in  Germany  during  2023  and  2024.  The  changed  subtitle 
emphasises that the realm of the journal – the protection of the EU’s financial interests – is 
at  the  interface  between  administrative  law  and  criminal  law  and  that  it  focuses  on  both 
preventive and repressive measures while continuing support of the European criminal law 
associations and their network.  

17 

 
 
 
The journal  raises  awareness  among  legal  practitioners and other stakeholders throughout 
Europe  about  relevant  legislation  and  policies  in  the  area  of  the  protection  of  the  EU’s 
financial  interests  and  European  “criminastrive”  law.  The  periodical  promotes  a  deeper 
understanding  of  long-term  developments  in  this  field  by  means  of  its  news  and  article 
sections. Each issue focuses on a specific topic related to the protection of the EU’s financial 
interests. 

The eucrim journal  is  primarily published as an online journal  (https://eucrim.eu/) in  four 
issues per year and can be downloaded free of charge. It features joint contributions from 
academics,  practitioners  and  representatives  of  several  associated  branches  of  the  legal 
profession fostering the exchange of information and knowledge.  

Research activities and statements on highly relevant topics were presented, including: the 
access of public authorities to electronic evidence; the impact of artificial intelligence on the 
detection of illicit money flows, fraud and other crimes; the potential effects of the planned 
new legal framework on corruption; the latest EU initiatives to effectively protect the EU 
budget, including mechanisms to defend EU values that affect the EU’s financial interests; 
and the increasing role and new competences of OLAF in the protection of the environment. 
In  addition,  a  special  issue  was  dedicated  to  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office, 
reflecting  on  its  potentials  and  challenges  after  its  first  three  years  of  operation.  Another 
special issue commemorated OLAF’s 25th anniversary. 

In  2023-2024,  eucrim’s  news  section  mainly  addressed  new  technological  developments, 
e.g., new legislation on artificial intelligence and the digitalisation of justice as well as new 
cooperation instruments, including relevant case law handed down by the European Court of 
Justice. Another focus was on the work and activities of EU institutions, including OLAF, 
the EPPO, and the ECA. 

The  University  of  Giessen  in  Germany  conducted  the  legal  research  project  on  the 
EPPO/OLAF  Comparative  Procedural  Compendium  containing  the  Member  States  and 
Union law’s provisions on investigations by the EPPO and OLAF.  

The project aimed to provide a Comparative Procedural Compendium on the national law of 
the Member States with regard to EPPO and OLAF investigations. The result of the project 
is a comprehensive compendium of the anti-fraud legal provisions with commentaries, which 
analysed and explained the legal situation for every available investigative measure either on 
the basis of Union law or on the basis of national law for each of the 27 Member States. 

This comprehensive compendium will improve and facilitate investigations into fraud against 
the budget of the EU considerably, by clearly identifying the right national or supranational 
standard for all investigation measures, with a strong emphasis on digital evidence, including 
bank account information. The project relied on detailed information on the national legal 
situation of every Member State by gathering in-depth knowledge from long-term research, 
which included an extensive network of experts. 

The research team compiled 27 volumes on the national legal situation for the EPPO and 
OLAF investigations (one volume for each Member State). This comprehensive presentation 

18 

 
 
 
will  provide  practitioners  and  academics  with  equally  comprehensive  information  on  the 
national law governing investigative measures in this area. 

Ten  volumes  have  been  published  (Cyprus,  Bulgaria,  Portugal,  France,  Slovenia,  Malta, 
Belgium, Croatia, Poland and Finland) and the remaining volumes will follow by 2026. The 
volumes can be viewed and obtained in freely accessible open access version and in printed 
version through the publisher's website:  

https://www.logos-verlag.de/cgi-bin/engbuchmid?isbn=5743&lng=deu&id=  

The University of Burgos in Spain conducted the EUMODNEXT project ‘Innovative tools 
and approaches for improving the prevention of fraud in the context of the NextGenerationEU 
Funds’. The project aimed, by comparing different anti-fraud measures adopted by each EU 
Member  State,  to  propose  standard  criteria  for  granting  of  NextGenerationEU  funds 
(www.ubu.es/eumodnext).  

A comparative research handbook was developed, offering an in-depth analysis of the anti-
fraud  regulations  existing  in  each  Member  State  to  apply  the  NextGenerationEU  Funds.  A 
policy recommendations set  was developed, proposing  anti-fraud regulations  tailored to  the 
specific contexts of each EU country, aimed to improve the allocation of funds and prevent 
misuse and fraud.  

An interactive website was created, as a tool to prevent fraud, with public information about 
the use of NextGenerationEU Funds in public procurement and the possible controversies in 
mass media (‘Euro Funds Public View’ https://eurofundspublicview.com/). This tool enables 
users to explore how the use of European funds is perceived through the news by examining 
media coverage across all the EU countries.  

The final conference brought together more than 200 participants from 11 EU countries  and 
provided  a  forum  for  knowledge  exchange  and  networking  between  practitioners  and 
academics. 

The results of the project have impact in the short term: the comparative study on the national 
contexts  increases  the  knowledge  on  the  prevention  of  fraud  and  corruption  in  EU  funds; 
raising awareness of the policy makers, researchers and practitioners on the importance of the 
prevention and detection of fraud in the NextGeneration EU funds, by providing good practices 
and recommendations on the control of funds.  

In the medium and long term: it will contribute to the improvement of the coordination among 
EU  countries  to  fight  fraud  and  corruption  in  the  use  of  NextGenerationEU  funds;  the 
recommendations elaborated are expected to generate a reduction in fraud and corruption due 
to the misuse of NextGenerationEU funds and to contribute to a better allocation of funds. 

4 

Irregularity Management System (IMS) – implementation in 2024 

4.1  Main activities  

To protect the EU’s financial interests, EU law requires Member States managing EU spending 
under shared management and countries benefiting from pre-accession assistance to notify the 

19 

 
 
 
Commission of any irregularities (including suspected and proven fraud) detected in areas where 
the EU provides financial support.  

To facilitate the reporting of irregularities, the IMS has been developed and put at the disposal of 
the Member States and other beneficiary countries. This dedicated electronic system is currently 
being used by 34 countries.  

Member  States,  candidate  countries  and  other  non-EU  countries  have  set  up  a  hierarchical 
reporting structure with  multiple levels  of responsibility.  Around 750 reporting organisations, 
covering over 3 000 IMS users, are responsible for the timely reporting of irregularities.  

The reporting workflow includes multiple hierarchical levels and various roles within the same 
level  to  ensure  that  several  quality  checks  are  performed  before  the  reports  are  sent  to  the 
Commission. 

Reporting authorities have responsibilities in one or more of the following fields: 

FIELD 

EU FUND 

Agriculture 

European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund 
(EAGF),  European 
Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD),  European 
Agricultural  Guarantee  and  Guidance  Fund  –  Guidance  Section 
(GUID) 

Home Affairs 

Asylum,  Migration  and  Integration  Fund  (AMIF),  Instrument  for 
Financial  Support  for  Border  Management  and  Visa  Policy  (BMVI) 
Internal Security Fund (ISF) 

Cohesion 

Fisheries 

Cohesion Fund (CF), European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), 
European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF),  European  Social 
Fund (ESF), European Social Fund plus (ESF+), Just Transition Fund 
(JTF) Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) 

European  Fisheries  Fund  (EFF),  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries 
Fund  (EMFF),  Financial  Instrument  on  Fisheries  Guidance  (FIFG), 
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) 

Most deprived 

Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) 

Neighbourhood 

Cross-border Cooperation – European Neighbourhood Policy (CBC-
ENP) 

Instrument  for  Structural  Policies  for  Pre-Accession,  Poland  and 
Hungary:  Assistance  for  Restructuring  their  Economies  PHARE),  , 
Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development 
(SAPARD), Transition Facility, Turkish Instrument for Pre-Accession 
Assistance (TIPAA),  Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 2007-
2013  (IPA),  Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance  2014-2020 
(IPAII), Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 2021-2027 (IPAIII) 

Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), on a voluntary basis 

Pre-accession 

Recovery, 
Resilience 

20 

 
 
Reporting authorities provide information on: 

−  who committed the irregularity/fraud (persons involved); 

− 

− 

the support measure such as fund, programme, project, budget line; 

the financial impact (expenditure and irregular/fraudulent amount); 

−  how the irregularity/fraud was committed; 

−  when the irregularity/fraud was committed; 

−  where the irregularity/fraud was committed; 

−  how the irregularity/fraud was detected; and 

−  what administrative, judicial or penal follow-up sanctions were imposed. 

4.2  What does the AWP involve? 

The  2024  AWP  has  allocated  a  budget  of  EUR 985  119  dedicated  to  maintenance,  IT 
development, and studies in relation to IMS. In 2024, 99.97% of the available amount for 2024 
has been committed. 

4.3  Maintenance and development 

In  2024,  IMS  underwent  two  major  releases,  the  first  updating  to  the  latest  standards  the 
underlying IT architecture and software, including some ‘look and  feel’ changes to the users’ 
interface;  and  the  second,  improving  the  search-function  possibilities  (distinguishing  between 
simple and advanced search), and increasing the attachments size.  

5  AFIS – implementation in 2024 

Under the programme’s third strand (AFIS), twenty-nine releases for the new Import, Export and 
Transit (IET) directory and several other application releases and fixes were developed in 2024, 
totalling nearly one hundred and twenty releases. Among these were several major releases: 

1.  new versions of the Import Export and Transit supporting new export and transit message 

formats; 

2.  a new feature for the Container Origin Signals (COS) module, allowing Member States to 

provide feedback on signals of potential origin fraud; 

3.  a new version of the Mutual Assistance System for the reporting of investgative results. 

In 2024, AFIS also supported 15 joint customs operations (JCOs) through the UAFP budget. 

6  Communication 

The successful implementation of the programme and the achievement of its objectives require a 
structured  and  well  organised  approach  to  inform  potential  beneficiaries  on  funding 
opportunities, as fast and as best as possible. 

On an annual basis, the Commission also disseminates information on the achievements and the 
results of the actions that received funding, for example by means of the current document as part 
of the annual reporting by the Commission. 

21 

 
 
 
On information, communication and visibility, Article 15(2) of the UAFP Regulation states: 

‘The Commission  shall on a regular basis implement  information  and communication actions 
relating to the programme, to actions taken pursuant to the programme and to the results obtained. 
Financial  resources  allocated  to  the  programme  shall  also  contribute  to  the  corporate 
communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to 
the objectives referred to in Article 2.’ 

6.1 

Informing potential applicants 

For the anti-fraud component (Hercule related actions), the full texts of the calls’ documents and 
the related templates are made available on the Commission’s Funding and Tenders Portal.  

Potential applicants were also informed about the publication of 2024 calls via e-mails sent to the 
Delegates  of  the  Working  Party  on  Combating  Fraud  of  the  European  Council  (GAF),  the 
members of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention (COCOLAF), the 
Anti-Fraud Coordination Services (AFCOS), the network of associations for European criminal 
law and for the protection of the EU’s financial interests, and to the Expert Group on Mutual 
Assistance in Customs Matters (EMAC), as well as AFIS-correspondents in the Member States, 
for further dissemination to their colleagues in the Member States. 

6.2  Dissemination of results 

Disseminating the results of technical assistance projects (Hercule) is not always possible since 
most  of  the  achievements  relate  to  investigations  for  which  (sensitive  and/or  case-related) 
information often cannot be disclosed.  

The results of training activities were disseminated by distributing electronic and/or paper reports 
summarising  the  events.  Some  beneficiaries  posted  the  recorded  event(s)  and  the  projects’ 
outputs on their websites or created dedicated websites to disseminate results and conclusions.  

For the IMS, there is, in particular, the follow-up that is given to IMS notifications, either by the 
reporting Member State or by the Commission services involved in the financial follow-up of 
identified  financial  irregularities  or  cases  of  fraud  detrimental  to  the  EU’s  financial  interests. 
OLAF  reports  within  the  Commission  on  the  performance  of  the  tool  and  the  received 
notifications. It also reports annually to the European Parliament and to the public.  

There is no specific dissemination of results stemming from the use of the AFIS platform, except 
for the annual activity reporting by OLAF and the annual programme performance statements 
disseminated  by  the  Services  of  the  Commission.  In  this  reporting,  the  (yearly)  number  of 
information  items  on  mutual  administrative  assistance  made  available  in  the  relevant  AFIS 
applications is communicated as a monitored performance indicator. 

6.3  Visibility of EU funding 

On information, communication and visibility, Article 15(1) of the UAFP Regulation states: 

‘Except  where  there  is  a  risk  of  compromising  the  effective  performance  of  anti-fraud  and 
customs operational activities, the recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin of 
those  funds  and  ensure  the  visibility  of  the  Union  funding,  in  particular  when  promoting  the 
actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information 
to multiple audiences, including the media and the public.’ 

22 

 
 
Equipment purchased under grant projects for technical assistance is often labelled with logos or 
stickers  referring  to  EU/Commission  funding  (except  for  covert  equipment  and  operations). 
When possible, beneficiary organisations disseminate information  about  purchased equipment 
on project websites or press releases, mentioning the support from EU funding. 

Under  the  training  type  of  actions,  all  beneficiaries  of  grants  were  requested  to  mention  the 
support from the UAFP (or Hercule for previous grants), where applicable: 

1.  in  every  publication  (title  page)  or  related  material  developed  (e.g.  studies,  booklets, 

newsletters and leaflets); 

2.  in electronic information (e.g. websites, audiovisual material, videos and software); 
3.  at information events (conferences and seminars); and 
4.  by creating a link from their website to the programme’s site.  

This aspect of EU-support visibility is not applicable to AFIS and IMS components, as no similar 
grant projects are implemented. 

7  Feedback from programme participants  

As indicated in Section 3, beneficiaries of UAFP grants for training, conferences and seminars 
carry  out  surveys  among  the  participants  to  collect  information  on  the  perceived  quality  and 
relevance of the event attended. According to the final reports received in 2024 for the training 
grants,  a  total  number  of  1  687  participants attended  training  activities  co-financed  by  the 
programme (both physical and virtual training activities).  

The  Commission  received,  from  grant  beneficiaries,  reports  based  on  1  491  filled-in 
questionnaires,  which  reflected,  in  the  assessments  done,  a  high  level  of  satisfaction.  The 
feedback  received  was  overwhelmingly  positive,  with    96%  of  the  participants  assessing  the 
events  as  ‘good’  to  ‘excellent’.  Participants  appreciated  the  opportunities  for  cooperation  and 
exchange of information offered by the training events and considered that the activities had a 
practical impact on their daily work.  

Based  on  the  feedback  results,  it  can  be  concluded  that  the  events  have  largely  met  their 
objectives and have helped increase awareness on the risks to which the EU’s financial interests 
are exposed.     

For technical assistance grants, the beneficiaries provide feedback on the programme in the final 
technical report. The satisfaction question concerns the suitability of the purchased equipment 
and tools for the needs of the beneficiary organisation. In 2024, all beneficiaries submitting a 
final report for their projects expressed an ‘excellent’ level of satisfaction (with a score of 5 out 
of 5). 

For the use of the IMS tool, the Commission (OLAF) holds a yearly survey on the satisfaction 
rate expressed by the users on the use of the tool and the support received. The latest IMS users’ 
feedback from 2023 showed a satisfaction level of 91%. 

For the AFIS platform, used for information exchange, there is no specific reporting on feedback 
from participants or beneficiaries. OLAF has the task to keep the platform up to date and running. 
OLAF  registers  as  a  performance  indicator  the  number  of  information  items  on  mutual 
administrative  assistance  made  available  in  the  relevant  AFIS  applications:  the  Customs 
Information  System,  the  Customs  File  Identification  Database,  and  the  Mutual  Assistance 
System. 

23 

 
 
 
8  Ukraine’s association to the programme 

OLAF has a long-standing cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities both on the expenditure 
side of the EU budget (protection of EU funds) and on the revenue side (customs cooperation). 
OLAF has been supporting Ukraine’s anti-fraud authorities to help strengthen and improve the 
country’s  structures  to  deal  with  fraud  and  corruption  and  to  protect  current  and  future  EU 
funding. 

In  2023,  OLAF  received  an  association  request  from  Ukraine,  being  the  first  third  country 
expressing  such  interest  in  relation  to  the  UAFP.  An  association  agreement  covering  the 
participation  of  Ukraine  in  the  programme  has  been  negotiated  between  the  Commission 
(represented by OLAF) and the competent authorities of Ukraine, and has been signed in March 
2024. 

For the upcoming years, Ukraine can benefit mainly from the first component of the programme, 
which provides the Member States and associated countries with targeted assistance in achieving 
their obligations to protect the EU’s financial interests.   

Under  the  2024  'Technical  Assistance'  call  for  proposals,  Ukrainian  authorities  submitted  six 
applications.  Following  the  evaluation  process,  one  application  was  selected  for  an  award. 
However, due to objective national circumstances, the awarded authority subsequently withdrew 
from the grant procedure. 

9 

Interim evaluation of the programme 

Article 13.2 of Regulation 2021/785 on the establishment of the Union anti-fraud programme of 
29.4.202111 states: 

‘The interim evaluation of the Programme shall be performed once there is sufficient information 
available about the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the start 
of the implementation of the Programme’.  

As the programme started with retroactive effect on 1 January 2021, the four years period of the 
Regulation elapsed on 31 December 2024. 

The study on the interim evaluation started in May 2023 and has been performed by an external 
contractor, covering the period January 2021 to January 2024. The contractor’s final report has 
been submitted on 17 May 2024.  

The available data and information in relation to projects funded by the programme, including 
the financing of AFIS and IMS, has been collected and provided to the contractor. The latter also 
performed targeted surveys and conducted interviews with internal and external stakeholders of 
the programme.  

The study report has been a solid supporting and reference document for the drafting of the Report 
from the Commission and its accompanying staff working document on the interim evaluation 
of the programme, adopted on 17 December 2024.  

The main conclusions and lessons learnt from the interim evaluation are that the programme is 
still considered by the beneficiaries as being very relevant, effective in reaching the programme’s 

11 OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 110-122. 

24 

 
 
 
objectives, efficient in not creating substantial higher costs for the applicants, coherent with other 
EU programmes and providing (internal) coherence between the three components. 

The consulted stakeholders recognised the large EU added value which the programme provided 
so far, since without the funding for technical assistance or training activities under the ‘Hercule’ 
component, Member States’ authorities would not be fully in a position to implement the planned 
projects or to bring them to a successful conclusion within the set timeline or available national 
budget. 

Other  added  value  relates  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  programme  and  its  implementation  by 
OLAF,  which  boosts  participation  in  particular  in  training  events.  As  lessons  learnt,  the 
evaluation identified the continued need to provide guidance to the applicants and to keep the 
application process as easy as possible, offering sufficient time to apply for funding. 

The final evaluation of the UAFP is only expected four years following the end of the programme 
(four years as of 31 December 2027). 

10 Conclusions and way forward  

The Union Anti-Fraud Programme continues to play a crucial and effective role in safeguarding 
the financial interests of the European Union. By providing Member States with the necessary 
tools and support, the programme helps to prevent, detect, and combat fraud that threatens EU 
resources. Its ongoing efforts not only ensure that funds are used appropriately but also strengthen 
the integrity and transparency of EU financial management. 

Regarding the anti-fraud component (Hercule), the various outcomes detailed in the preceding 
chapters highlight the critical role of funding provided to Member State authorities in preventing 
and  combating  fraud,  corruption,  and  other  illegal  activities  that  threaten  the  EU’s  financial 
interests. In practical terms, the programme contributed to safeguarding taxpayers’ money from 
misuse or diversion from its intended purpose. 

The programme continously strives to adapt to the evolving anti-fraud priorities with a stronger 
focus of support on the expenditure side. This shift in focus reflects both the stringent needs for 
prevention and investigation related to the increased EU budget and its new forms of expenditure 
(e.g.: the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Ukraine Facility, etc.) as well as the new available 
EU  funds  dedicated  specifically  for  Member  States’  customs  authorities  (under  the  Customs 
Control Equipment Instrument for example).  

The programme is also aligning more strongly with the Commission’s anti-fraud strategy. This 
strategy was revised in 2023 and places a much larger focus on the collection and use of data-
driven tools for anti-fraud purposes. The programme’s three components will continue to aim at 
building and strengthening the necessary capacities in Member States to develop, use and share 
digital information, databases and business-intelligence tools. 

In  addition,  the Union Anti-Fraud Programme will remain a vital  tool in  strengthening cross-
border  cooperation  among  the  national  law  enforcement  authorities  of  Member  States.  By 
fostering  greater  collaboration,  information-sharing,  and  coordinated  efforts,  the  programme 
plays an essential role in combating fraud on a broader scale. Its continued success will further 
ensure that Member States are equipped to address emerging challenges, ultimately contributing 
to a safer and more secure European Union for all. 

25 

 
 
As the future EU Multiannual Financial Framework is currently being prepared, it is essential 
that it includes sufficient funding for operational anti-fraud activities to safeguard the proper and 
justified  use  of  public  money.  By  investing  in  robust  anti-fraud  measures,  financed  via 
operational programmes, the EU can protect its financial interests, maintain the integrity of its 
budget, and uphold public trust in the responsible management of taxpayers’ money. Ensuring 
that these activities are adequately financed within the next financial framework will be key to 
fostering accountability and securing the long-term sustainability of EU investments.

26 

 
 
Annex 1: Grants and contracts awarded and finalised under the 2024 Financing Decision 

Table 1 – TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE grants AWARDED under the  2024 Financing Decision  

   MS 

Beneficiary 

Title and description 

1 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Lublin 

2  RO 

Bihor County Police 
Inspectorate 

3 

RO 

National Anti-Corruption 
Directorate 

4 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Gorzów 
Wielkopolski 

5 

ES  Ministry of Interior 

6  DE 

7  DE 

General Customs 
Directorate 
General Customs 
Directorate 

8 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Krakow 

9  RO 

10 

IE 

11 

PL 

Anticorruption General 
Directorate 
The Revenue 
Commissioners 
Regional Police 
Headquarters in Lublin 

12 

PL 

Chamber of Fiscal 
Administration in Warsaw 

13  LV  National Revenue Service 

14  DE 

General Customs 
Directorate 

15  RO 

National Anti-Corruption 
Directorate 

16  HU  SSNS 

S4E - Security4Europe - reinforcing the capacity of Polish 
Police in the fight against fraud, corruption and other 
illegal activity detrimental to the EU financial interests 
DITEU - Developing the operational capacity of the IT 
examination centres to protect the financial interests of 
the EU 
NANOTECH - Improving the protection of the EU financial 
interests by enhancing the technical endowment of DNA in 
the field of investigation and surveillance 

WWK - Supporting and strengthening the analytical 
capacity of the Lubuskie police. 

TLD - The Last Dance - a project to increase pressure on 
illicit fraud and smuggling activities. 

CRYPTO - Equipment for Crypto analysis 

KI-KEF - AI platform for local risk analysis by airport control 
units 
ACTION - Increase operational efficiency in intensifying the 
fight against financial fraud at the external border of the 
European Union 
SHIELD - Strengthening the Fight Against Corruption to 
Protect EU Financial Interests 

IDS-IE - EUAF-2024-TA -Intel Development IE 

TOSLP - Technical and operational support for Lublin police 
to combat crimes detriment to the EU’s financial interests 
MUCS - The development of preventive actions, 
investigative and analitical capabilites and elimination of 
hardware deficencies 
ACB - Analytical Capacity Building for the Latvian Tax and 
Customs Police 
GEM - Providing the excise tax units of the customs 
investigation service (Zollfahndungsämter) with 
Gemini substance detection devices 
DIGIT - Supporting the activity of the European 
Delegated Prosecutors in Romania in combating 
fraud and corruption affecting the EU financial 
interests 
SSNS - Developing drone detection and 
counterintelligence capabilities at the Special Service 
for National Security (SSNS) to counter illegal 
smuggling 

Awarded grant 
(EUR) 

Co
-fin 
% 

171 316.00 

80 

232 317.60 

80 

613 895.20 

80 

128 576.00 

80 

636 198.40 

318 417.60 

476 608.00 

80 

80 

80 

139 008.80 

80 

457 998.40 

280 800.00 

124 960.00 

80 

80 

80 

187 672.00 

80 

326 400.00 

80 

508 688.00 

80 

245 540.00 

80 

957 456.00 

80 

17  LT 

Customs Department under 
the Ministry of Finance of 
the Republic of Lithuania 

18 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Kraków 

BODYCAMS - Acquisition and installation of a 
portable body cameras system 

857 600.00 

80 

MONSTER - Mobile Network Surveillance Technics 
as a tool in Eradicating Rapid growth of crimes 
affecting the EU budget. 

932 475.20 

80 

27 

 
 
 
  
19  RO 

Mures County Police 
Inspectorate 

20  RO 

21  RO 

General Police Directorate 
of the Municipality of 
Bucharest 
General Police Directorate 
of the Municipality of 
Bucharest 

22  FR 

Ministry of Economy, 
Finance and Recovery 

4EST - Strengthening the operational capacity of 
Mureș County Police and Târgu Mureș Special 
Operations Unit to investigate and combat economic 
crimes in forestry that damage EU's financial 
interests 

341 172.00 

80 

DATA ANALYSIS 

1 092 000.00 

80 

Economic Safeguard 

885 312.00 

80 

DNRED-RID - Design and deployment of an MDM 
supervision solution and of a fleet of digital 
connected tablets for technical assistance during field 
operations against the illicit activities of traffickers. 

267 000.00 

80 

TOTAL 

10 181 411.20 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2 – TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE grants FINALISED in 2024. 

  MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

Amount paid 
(EUR) 

Amount 
paid as 
% to 
initial 
commit-
ment[1] 

1  CZ 

Directorate General of 
Customs 

AUDIUS - The Audio video surveillance 
equipment under the Criminal Procedure Code 

390 577.14 

98 

2 

IT 

Customs and Monopolies 
Agency 

DFE - Digital Forensic Equipment for ADM 

164 720.00 

83 

FCIS - Purchase of Investigation and Surveillance 
Equipment 

121 806.40 

90 

3 

LT 

Financial Crime 
Investigation Service at 
the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs 

4 

PL 

Regional Police 
Headquarters in Lublin 

5  RO 

National Anti-Corruption 
Directorate 

6  RO 

General Inspectorate of 
the Romanian Police 

7 

IT 

Ministry of Economy 
and Finance 

RCCOTP - Reinforcement of the investigative 
capability and capacity of operational technique 
Lublin police officers by purchase of the 
advanced technical tools to combat irregularities 
detrimental to the EU’s 

LINK - Improving the DNAs technical and 
operational capacity in the field of data analysis to 
support the investigation in cases of corruption 
detrimental to the EU financial interests 

DETECT-X - Strengthening the operational 
capacity of the Directorate for Investigating 
Economic Crimes in order to protect the financial 
interests of the European Union and Romania at 
the EU’s external border 

ENTERPRISE - ENabling TEchnologies for 
Repression of frauds and Protection of Interests 
and Security of European union 

115 646.65 

92 

87 663.73 

95 

296 676.35 

98 

224 720.00 

100 

501 539.46 

70 

8  RO 

General Inspectorate of 
the Romanian Police 

SIS - Surveillance system for protecting the 
financial interest of the European Union in 
Romania 

9 

IT 

Ministry of Economy 
and Finance 

A.F.A.S.T. - Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling 
Tools 

356 394.77 

92 

10  LV  State Revenue Service 

POC - Specialized Equipment to Reinforce the 
Latvian Tax and Customs Police Operational 
Capabilities 

11 

IT 

Ministry of Economy 
and Finance 

MINI DRONE - Purchase of 1 MINI-Class 
Aircraft System (RPAS) for the fight against 
counterfeiting and smuggling tobacco products 

663 026.12 

94 

631 470.00 

99 

TOTAL 

   3 554 240.62 

29 

 
 
  
  
  
  
 
[1]  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was either 
not fully implemented or that the beneficiary managed to achieve cost savings. 

Table 3 – DATABASES that were CONTRACTED under the 2024 Financing Decision 

Name 

Content 

TDM 
Monitor)  

(Trade 

Data 

Worldwide trade statistics database 

Moodys - ORBIS 

Worldwide company data information 

Lloyds - Seasearcher 

Worldwide vessels movement information 

1 

2 

3 

Commitment 
in Euro 

120 000 

679 661 

268 834 

Total committed under the 2024 budget  

1 068 495 

Table 4 – TRAINING, CONFERENCES, STAFF EXCHANGES AND STUDIES grants AWARDED under the 2024 
Financing Decision 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

1 

DE 

The Max Planck Society for 
the Advancement of Science 

Eucrim -  European Law Forum: 
Prevention - Investigation - Prosecution - 
publication of a periodical on the 
protection of the EU’s financial interests 

Awarded grant 
(EUR) 

Co-
fin % 

312 749.86 

80 

IT 

Avviso Pubblico - Enti locali e 
Regioni contro mafie e 
corruzione. 

Act Now - Avviso Pubblico's Trainings 
Against Corruption and Fraud 

2 

3 

LU 

Luxembourg University 

4 

IT 

Catania University 

5 

HR 

Central Finance and 
Contracting Agency 

6 

PL 

Regional Police Headquarters 
in Lublin 

7 

PL 

Regional Police Headquarters 
in Olsztyn 

88 893.04 

88 672.00 

80 

80 

117 434.27 

80 

79 924.00 

80 

66 571.11 

80 

161 024.00 

80 

FUTUREFRAUD - Conference – The 
future of the anti-fraud landscape 

PIF - Strengthening the protection of 
EU's financial interests via criminal law: 
a comprehensive study on fraud 
prevention, anti-corruption and anti-
money laundering measures, and 
corporate crime. 

PROTECT (Prevention, Response and 
Oversight Tactics to Eliminate fraudulent 
aCTivities) network - anti-fraud capacity 
building 
LTSE - LEGAL TRADE – SECURE 
EUROPE – EU Law Enforcement 
Agencies against illegal tobacco trade 
KONF-PG - protection of the financial 
interests of the European Union through 
cooperation of services and exchange of 
experience with a view to prevent and 
combat fraud. 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8 

ES  Ministry of Interior  

TLJ - The Lambda's Journey - Training 
programme to combat fraud and 
smuggling in the EU 

101 759.57 

80 

TOTAL 

1 017 027.85 

Table  5  –  ANTI-FRAUD  PROCURED  CONFERENCES  organised  by  the  Commission  under  the  2024  Financing 
Decision 

Dates 

Conference title 

Location 

N° of particip. 

Amount 
committed 
EUR 

September 2023  AFCOS Seminar – Third countries 

Budva, 
Montenegro 

90 

83 029.74 

November 2023  High-Level Conference on Customs Fraud 

Sevilla, Spain 

115 

176 371.76 

June 2023 

Joint Sanctions Enforcement Meeting   

October 2023 

AFCOS Meeting Member States 

Brussels, 
Belgium 

Vilnius, 
Lithuania 

October 2023 

ASEM  Joint  Customs  Operation  Debriefing 
Meeting 

Ischia, Italy 

October 2023 

Annual  Conference  of  the  Task  Group 
"Cigarettes"       

Ljubljana, 
Slovenia 

March 202412 

JCO Refrigerants F-gas Briefing Meeting 

Lublin, Poland 

October 2023 

Workshop  on  EU 
investigations 

expenditure 

fraud 

Brussels, 
Belgium 

February 202413 

OLAF Training for the Ukrainian anti-fraud 
authorities 

Brussels, 
Belgium  

48 

80 

60 

95 

40 

22 

40 

36 636.36 

65 439.48 

119 862.38 

150 776.47 

80 811.58 

35 338.22 

88 718.45 

TOTAL 

590 

836 984.44 

Table 7 – LEGAL TRAINING and STUDIES grants FINALISED in 2024 

MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

Amount paid 
(EUR) 

Amount 
paid as 
% to 
initial 
commit-
ment[1] 

12  This meeting has been committed under the 2023 UAFP budget and was organised in March 2024. 
13  This training session has been committed under the 2023 UAFP budget and was organised in February 2024. 

31 

 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 

DE 

JUSTUS-LIEBIG 
UNIVERSITY OF GIESSEN 

The EPPO/OLAF Comparative Procedural 
Manual (CPM) 27+1: The Member States’ 
(27) and Union Law’s (1) provisions on 
investigations by the EPPO and OLAF, 
thoroughly compiled and explained 

106 072.10 

100 

TOTAL 

106 072.10 

[1]  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was either 
not fully implemented or that the beneficiary managed to achieve cost savings. 

Table 8 – TRAINING, CONFERENCES, STAFF EXCHANGES AND STUDIES grants FINALISED in 2024 

  MS 

Beneficiary 

Title 

1 

ES  Ministry of Interior 

2 

PL 

Tax Administration Chamber 
in Lublin 

3 

PL 

Provincial Police Headquarters 
in Lublin 

4  DE 

ERA - Academy of European 
Law 

IAEUFIF - Training on investigations against 
EU financial interests fraud 
TRAI - Specialised training sessions in field of 
data analysis and extended confiscation for The 
Department of Investigation of the Tax 
Administration in Lublin 
CIAUF - Combating irregularities in the 
allocation and use of the EU’s funds – crime 
schemes, mechanisms and investigation 
strategies 
ERA - Preventing and detecting fraud: Special 
toolkits of (new) investigation techniques to 
better protect the EU financial interests 

Amount 
paid (EUR) 

Amount 
paid as 
% to 
initial 
commit
-ment[1] 

33 352.33 

100 

89 280.00 

100 

32 660.77 

88 

49 755.90 

80 

[1]  

Final payment as percentage of the awarded grant. A percentage lower than 100% means that the action was either 
not fully implemented or that the beneficiary managed to achieve considerable cost savings. 

TOTAL    205 049.00 

Table 9 – GLOBAL OVERVIEW per Member State of awarded grants and rejected applications in 2024 

Number of 
applications 
received 

Number of 
awarded 
grants 

Grants requested 
(EUR) 

Grants awarded 
(EUR) 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 2024 

88 

22 

38 256 963.31 

9 914 411.20 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Germany 

211 437.60 

1 316 450.25 

685 679.19 

- 

- 

- 

1 303 713.60 

1 303 713.60 

1 

2 

3 

3 

- 

- 

- 

3 

32 

 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
Greece 

Spain 

France 

Hungary 

Ireland 

Italy 

Lithuania 

Latvia 

Poland 

Romania 

Slovakia 

Ukraine 

TRAINING, CONFERENCES, 
STAFF EXCHANGES AND 
STUDIES 2024 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Germany 

Spain 

Croatia 

Hungary 

Italy 

Lithuania 

Luxemburg 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovakia 

TOTAL  

3 

3 

5 

5 

1 

1 

2 

4 

30 

19 

1 

5 

34 

2 

3 

1 

4 

1 

3 

7 

1 

2 

5 

1 

3 

1 

- 

1 

- 

1 

1 

- 

1 

1 

6 

7 

- 

- 

8 

- 

- 

1 

1 

1 

- 

2 

- 

1 

2 

- 

- 

- 

1 236 520.00 

- 

1 332 640.80 

636 198.40 

3 577 545.00 

267 000.00 

3 863 055.20 

957 456.00 

280 800.00 

280 800.00 

199 478.40 

- 

1 012 688.79 

857 599.99 

1 839 476.00 

326 400.00 

11 493 995.52 

1 684 007.98 

8 429 706.36 

3 868 234.40 

220 328.00 

1 253 448.60 

- 

- 

4 074 358.21 

1 017 027.85 

105 294.05 

282 443.79 

- 

- 

312 749.86 

312 749.86 

290 261.15 

101 759.57 

79 924.00 

79 924.00 

343 046.62 

- 

772 873.99 

206 327.31 

131 336.07 

- 

268 984.00 

88 672.00 

893 353.45 

227 595.11 

62 118.00 

463 849.23 

68 124.00 

- 

- 

- 

122 

30 

42 331 321.52 

11 198 439.05 

33 

 
 
 
34