Tag: fraud

€56 billion is lost to healthcare fraud each year in the EU, but experts say conflicts of interest in the pharmaceutical sector mean that the true extent of expenditure being directed away from patients remains unknown.

Brussels yesterday (1 March) launched a new website making it possible for citizens and European Union officials alike to anonymously report suspicious use of EU funding to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

€500 banknotes should be scrapped to cut down on money laundering, French MPs suggested yesterday (10 September) in a report presented to the French parliament two weeks ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

Despite progress made last year in fighting abuse of European funds in Bulgaria, the country still has a long way to go to meet EU standards, the head of the Union's anti-fraud office OLAF said yesterday (9 July).

The financial impact of irregularities and suspected fraud in the use of EU funds by the bloc's member states continues to grow despite the decreasing number of cases documented, reveals a report published yesterday (22 July) by the European Commission.

In the European single market there are still large differences between the national payment systems. The EU seeks to remove these obstacles and reduce the costs to cross-border payments for consumers by creating a Single Euro(pean) Payments Area (SEPA). The European Payments Council (EPC) was set up to develop a common infrastructure and standards. However, there is only little progress, since banks are reluctant to apply standards and fear competition being opened up to non-banks, which makes it difficult to reach the 2010 target. Therefore, the Commission has laid out a common legal framework in its 2005 proposal.

EU offices, companies and homes in Belgium, France, Luxemburg and Italy have been raided by police over charges of bribery and breaches of public-tender rules for Commission buildings.

In the wake of new ways to make payments, from cheque books, credit cards and debit cards to online payments and m-commerce, have always come new ways to steal money.  Some would say that the thieves are in fact always one step ahead. This dossier outlines types of fraudulent practices, developing technological solutions and European legislative measures.

In an exclusive interview with EurActiv, Commissioner Kallas has said that likely priorities for the next few years would be simplifying the budget discharge, reconsidering allowances of Commission staff, increasing transparency and promoting the use of IT.