EU – lack of assurance

Keith Nuthall, in Brussels, and Alan Osborn, in London

Fraudsters are still milking the European Union’s complex regulations and procedures: 4,912 cases of irregularities and 1,235 cases of outright fraud were notified to the European Commission in 1999, at a potential total cost to EU coffers of Euro 619 million. The latest Commission annual report on the fight against fraud also claims that excise duty scams are growing, the losses are attributed to national government treasuries but much of the money is earmarked for the EU. The report says that the losses associated with alcohol trafficking cases currently under investigation may be as much as Euro 500 million. It noted, “Alcohol trafficking and cigarette smuggling are now the most serious form of fraud.”