Helping to detect sanctions evasion kept EU’s anti-graft watchdog busy in 2023

Ukraine was the focus of many of the activities of the European Anti-Fraud Office (‘OLAF’) in 2023, including training for Ukrainian authorities and working with Member States to help detect and investigate attempts to circumvent EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the EU’s graft watchdog said in its annual report,

In June 2023, OLAF hosted national authorities, non-governmental organisations and industry representatives from the EU, United States, United Kingdom and Canada to exchange intelligence and coordinate action on the enforcement of trade sanctions against Russia, allowing participants ‘to exchange intelligence and strategies to support the correct enforcement of the sanctions,’ the office  said in its report, published 18 June.

An important outcome of the meeting was the agreement to establish a Joint Sanctions Enforcement Operation (‘JSEO’) that became operational on 1 July 2023 and is coordinated by OLAF, focusing on dual-use goods such as integrated circuits and electronic components.

‘OLAF also participated in the G7 sub-working group on Export Control Enforcement that was created with the aim to bolster compliance and enforcement of the sanctions and deny Russia the benefits of G7 economies,’ the report said.

OLAF produced ‘intelligence packages’ that allowed it to ‘promptly inform national authorities of any suspicious situations,’ including ‘unusual movements of goods or other suspicious behaviour such as price anomalies that can be an indication that the goods traded to or from a third country have in fact their final destination or origin in Russia.’

It added: ‘By bringing together authorities, actors and partners that have the power to enforce the sanctions, OLAF is making sure that there is a strong and concerted approach which will make sure that the sanctions are effective. OLAF is also cooperating closely with the Ukrainian authorities on the topic. OLAF further fulfils its obligations to support EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus by providing investigative intelligence know-how and by acting as a bridge between the various national and international authorities.’

https://ec.europa.eu/olaf-report/2023/investigative-activities/fraud-trends_en.html