Foreword by the inspector general

• Author: Jan Willem van der Kaaij
• Profession: Inspector General
• Pages: 5-5

FOREWORD BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL 5

FOREWORD

BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-12-09/secretary-generals-message-

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Under the Bank Group’s Board-approved Anti-Fraud Poli-

cies, the Fraud Investigations Division (IG/IN) is required to

report annually on its investigation activities. As Inspe ctor

General, it gives me great pleasure to provide you with

the details of the work conducted by the Division in 2018,

along with some of the lessons learned from various inves-

tigation cases and other activities undertaken as par t of

the Bank’s fight against fraud, corruption and other forms

of prohibited conduct.

Along with outlining the work of the Fraud Investigations

Division through specif‌ic case examples, this report also

provides me with an opportunity to emphasise the need

for all of us to remain vigilant in the f‌ight against prohibit-

ed conduct. According to the World Economic Forum, the

annual global cost of corruption is around EUR 3.2 trillion1

per year. The EIB is no dif‌ferent from other international

and national institutions in terms of such risk. We are de-

termined to mitigate these risks to the fullest extent possi-

ble. Our Inspectorate General is well placed to investigate

and to gather the evidence needed for the Bank to take

sound decisions.

2018 saw an increase in the number of cases referred to

the Inspectorate General’s Fraud Investigations Division for

possible investigation. An expanded section of this report

covering matters investigated by our Division in 2018 of‌fers

the reader an insight into the kind of cases our Division

handles.

Let me highlight just a few examples of the work conduct-

ed by the Fraud Investigations Division in 2018, which

you will f‌ind in more detail in the following pages. Our

work included an agreement with Volkswagen arising

from the so-called “Dieselgate” af‌fair; support for an Anti-

Corruption Bureau leading to the arrest and trial of per-

sons allegedly involved in corrupting an EIB-f‌inanced pro-

ject; fraud investigation in an EIB external of‌f‌ice, resulting

in the arrest of those responsible, and on-the-ground

investigations in a number of countries; inspections of

books and records, and provision of information to other

areas of the Bank to help mitigate further risk. During the

year, the team also provided signif‌icant forensic support

to other areas of the Bank responsible for conduct issues

not falling within IG/IN’s mandate (e.g. Dignity at Work

and Code of Conduct).

The work of the Division goes far beyond investigations: it

includes policy work and awareness-raising. In 2018 alone,

we trained approximately 500 EIB and 119 EIF staf‌f mem-

bers and carried out other outreach activities, including a

conference to mark Global Anti-Corruption Day. A special

initiative last year was the addition of an integrity subject

in the internal photo competition to show staf‌f the ef‌fects

of prohibited conduct on our projects and our lives.

We work closely with national investigation and prosecu-

tion of‌f‌ices. To further enhance cooperation with national

partners, memoranda of understanding were signed in

2018 with the French Anti-Corruption Agency, the Of‌f‌ice

of the Prosecutor General of Hungary, the Moldovan Na-

tional Anti-Corruption Centre and the Ukrainian National

Anti-Corruption Bureau.

I would like to thank staf‌f across the EIB Group for their

continued cooperation and conf‌idence, and my staf‌f for

their hard work and perseverance, often under challeng-

ing conditions. I hope that you f‌ind the information in the

following pages informative and interesting.

Jan Willem van der Kaaij

Inspector General