Head of Unit D.2 - Legal Advice European Anti-Fraud Office

 

 

Dear Ms X,

The Ombudsman has received a complaint against the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The Ombudsman has asked me to deal with the case on her behalf. The complainant takes issue with how OLAF conducted investigation OC/2022/0514/A1 and considers that OLAF failed to reply in an adequate manner to his letter of 3 May 2024.

The latter aspect of the complaint centres on a letter the complainant sent to OLAF on 3 May 2024, which concerns the outcome of OLAF investigation OC/2022/0514/A1 where the complainant provided evidence as a witness. In this letter, the complainant criticised the final report following the investigation and posed four specific questions to OLAF. In addition, he annexed two documents, one containing detailed rebuttals in relation to elements of the final OLAF report. The complainant also referred to his rights as a whistle-blower.

We note that OLAF provided a reply to the complainant and explained in general terms certain elements of its investigative practices. It also explained how it had ensured the protection of the complainant’s personal data in the course of the investigation.

However, in the documents he provides, the complainant contests whether he and the information he provided to OLAF were presented in a neutral and impartial way in the final report. He challenges the fact that he was not afforded an opportunity to rebut evidence, which contradicted his own, prior to OLAF adopting its final report. He raises further concerns about how OLAF identified relevant witnesses and how it gathered the necessary information and evidence from these third parties and/or from the person concerned as regards the various allegations of wrongdoing under investigation.

We fully appreciate the wide margin of discretion OLAF enjoys in pursuing its investigations. However, the issues raised by the complainant in his four questions to OLAF, as well as broader concerns drawn from the other material he has shared and which we refer to above, merit a more complete reply by OLAF. We kindly request OLAF to provide such a reply to the complainant by 15 October 2024 and at the same time to provide the Ombudsman with a copy of that reply. We will then determine whether there are grounds for the Ombudsman to pursue the matter.

As OLAF has reasonably explained its position concerning compliance with its whistle-blower protection rules, that matter does not form part of this inquiry.

Attached to this e‐mail, please find a copy of the complaint.

Yours sincerely, 

Rosita Hickey

Director of inquiries

Strasbourg, 16/09/2024