Structure
OLAF is a General Service Directorate General of the European Commission. For its investigative and operational tasks OLAF works in full independence. In a Special Report of July 2005 the European Court of Auditors concluded that "the hybrid status of the Office, which has investigative autonomy but reports to the Commission for its other duties, has not adversely affected the independence of its investigative function. Being part of the Commission, the Office has been able not only to benefit from substantial administrative and logistical support, but also to take advantage of the anti-fraud legislation that is available to Commission departments".
OLAF has about 500 staff, out of which 160 are investigators. Many of them are lawyers rather than accountants.
The former German public prosecutor Franz-Hermann Brüner was appointed as Director-General for a second five-year term on 14 February 2006 after agreement between the European Commission, Parliament and Council, but died in January 2010. Director Nicholas Ilett is the acting Director General. UKIP MEP and former whistleblower Marta Andreasen publicly expressed interest in the position in April, and reiterated her view that OLAF should be separated from the Commission. The post was assigned to Giovanni Kessler, former Italian anti-fraud chief, in December 2010
Read more about this topic: European Anti-fraud Office
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