NGO where corruption identified concering Syria aid effort - OLAF Report 2019
Dear European Anti-Fraud Office,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
What NGO is being referred to on page 14/15 of the OLAF Report 2019 (https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/sites/an...) in the section SIPHONING OFF MONEY FROM SYRIA?
OLAF describes a "high-profile case" concerning "a well-known non-governmental organisation (NGO) involved in supporting EU humanitarian aid efforts in Syria" where "investigators found evidence of corruption by two former staff members of the NGO".
Yours faithfully,
Emma Beswick
Dear Ms Beswick,
Thank you for your request for access to documents. We apologise for the
delay in getting back to you.
Unfortunately, you have not indicated your postal address. This is
necessary for registering and handling your request in line with the
procedural requirements.
Please send us your full postal address at your earliest convenience.
Pending your reply, we reserve the right to refuse the registration of
your request.
Best regards,
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)
Directorate D – General Affairs
Unit D.2 – Legal Advice
Rue Joseph II, 30 • B-1000 Brussels (Belgium)
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
Our policy regarding personal data protection can be viewed on
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
2. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
Dear European Anti-Fraud Office,
Thank you for your reply.
My postal address is:
Emma Beswick
English Digital Team
First floor
56 Quai Rambaud,
69002 Lyon
FRANCE
Yours faithfully,
Emma Beswick
Dear Ms Beswick,
Please find enclosed a reply to your application for public access to
documents.
Due to the current exceptional circumstances, OLAF will not send you a
copy of the attached reply by registered post. Therefore, we kindly
request you to acknowledge receipt of this email.
Yours sincerely,
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)
Directorate D – General Affairs
Unit D.2 – Legal Advice
Rue Joseph II, 30 • B-1000 Brussels (Belgium)
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
Our policy regarding personal data protection can be viewed on
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
2. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
Dear European Anti-Fraud Office,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'NGO where corruption identified concerning Syria aid effort - OLAF Report 2019'.
Firstly, I would like to specify that I am solely requesting the name of the NGO that is being referred to on page 14 of this report ("a well-known non-governmental organisation
(NGO) involved in supporting EU humanitarian aid
efforts in Syria"), not the names of sources, witnesses or other persons concerned:
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/sites/an...
This mitigates the risk of potential harm to the people involved in the investigation as I am not asking for them to be identified.
I believe there is a strong public interest in disclosing this information that outweighs the reasons you put forward in your response. This goes beyond the general public interest in transparency, in an era where trust is paramount.
I appreciate that the publication of the sensitive information contained in the OLAF case file might harm the protection of personal data and/or the integrity of persons involved in the investigation but in this case, I believe the public interest outweighs this risk of harm, which is either non-existent or very low for the aforementioned reason.
These are the reasons it is in the public interest to disclose the requested information:
1) As well as receiving finance from the EU, this NGO will be funded by donations from the public and those who donate to the organisation have the right to know so that they can make an informed decision about to whom they give their hard-earned money.
2) If such information were withheld from the public, this could lead to mistrust in NGOs in general and negatively impact those that were not implicated in corruption concerning aid in Syria, harming their chances of raising much-needed funds. This, in turn, could mean less funding to help those who are in desperate need of it in Syria - an extremely vulnerable group in the general public.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/ngo_...
Yours faithfully,
Emma Beswick
Dear Ms Beswick,
We refer to your confirmatory application dated 20/11/2020 in which you
request a review of the decision to reject access the document.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires on 11/12/2020.
An extended time limit is needed in order to finalise the internal
consultation on the reply to your confirmatory application.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 12/01/2021.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)
Directorate D – General Affairs
Unit D.2 – Legal Advice
Rue Joseph II, 30 • B-1000 Brussels (Belgium)
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
Our policy regarding personal data protection can be viewed on
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
2. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
Dear Ms Beswick,
Please find enclosed a reply from the Director-General of OLAF to your
confirmatory application for public access to documents of 20 November
2020.
Due to the current exceptional circumstances, OLAF will not send you a
copy of the attached reply by registered post. Therefore, we kindly
request you to acknowledge receipt of this email.
Yours sincerely,
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)
Directorate C: Investigation Support
Unit C.4 – Legal Advice
Rue Joseph II, 30 • B-1000 Brussels (Belgium)
[1]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
Our policy regarding personal data protection can be viewed on
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...
References
Visible links
1. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud
2. http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/...