site.btaNo EU Budget Fraud Charges for Bulgaria, OLAF 2024 Report Says

No EU budget fraud charges were issued against Bulgaria under European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) recommendations, according to OLAF 2024 report, issued on Monday.

OLAF investigates EU budget fraud cases and misconduct within EU institutions.

In 2024, two Bulgarian cases, based on OLAF investigations, were concluded with no charges filed. Eight cases are still “pending”, says the report. Only two countries have more pending cases – Poland (22), and Hungary (16). Bulgaria is one of the seven EU Member States with no charges in fraud cases.

OLAF noted that they concluded their investigations with recommendations to the Bulgarian state authorities and encouraged them to take preventive measures against potential misconduct. The recommendations include recovery of unduly spent EU budget funds or the prevention of undue expenditure. OLAF may recommend criminal proceedings, disciplinary or administrative measures such as a ban on further participation in EU-funded activities.

For 2024, the OLAF recommended recovery of EUR 871.5 million and prevention against undue expenditure amounting to EUR 43.5 million.

In the last three years, OLAF investigations have led to recovery of EUR 4.3 billion and prevention of EUR 800 million in undue expenditure, according to the report.