GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Sep 14, 2026
OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office)
OLAF is the European Anti-Fraud Office, an independent investigative service of the European Commission based in Brussels.
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Source: Europäisches Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung (anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu); Europäische Staatsanwaltschaft (eppo.europa.eu); Frachtportal-News «Nachträgliche Zollforderungen in Polen» (14.09.2026)
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Definition & Explanation
OLAF is the European Anti-Fraud Office, an independent investigative service of the European Commission based in Brussels. It investigates fraud, corruption and other illegal activity affecting the EU budget – in external trade above all customs fraud: false declarations of origin, undervaluation, incorrect goods descriptions and tariff codes, and the circumvention of anti-dumping duties. OLAF analyses trade flows, coordinates joint customs operations across member states and carries out on-the-spot checks, including in third countries. It cannot prosecute: it issues reports and recommendations and hands cases to national authorities or to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). For freight forwarders and shippers, OLAF reports matter in practice because they are a common trigger for post-clearance recovery of duties – often years after import, and addressed to every party that qualifies as a customs debtor. OLAF is distinct from the EPPO, which actually prosecutes, and from the European Court of Auditors, which audits rather than investigates.
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