Financial fraud

The management of EU funds in the 2014-2020 period is governed by the principle of reinforced protection against intentional fraud, which can drain the EU and national budgets by financing unjustified or inflated expenditures.

Following Article 125(4)(c) of Regulation No 1303/2013 of 17 December 2013 of the European Parliament and the Council (EU) laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EU) No 1083/2006, hereinafter referred to as the General Regulation, the Managing Authority of the operational programme introduces effective and proportional anti-fraud measures, taking into account the risks identified. Furthermore, Article 72(h) of this Regulation stipulates that it is the task of the management and control systems to prevent, detect and correct irregularities, including fraud, and to recover amounts unduly paid, together with interest on any late repayment of those amounts.

The Managing Authority of the RPOWP (Regional Operational Programme of Podlaskie Voivodeship) 2014-2020 implements the policy of prevention, detection and reporting of fraud to the competent authorities under the applicable rules and regulations.

The procedures developed by the MA are addressed to all institutions involved in the implementation of RPOWP 2014-2020, which are responsible for the proper management of the fraud risk. The institutions involved in the 2014-2020 RPOWP implementation system are expected to:

• effectively prevent fraud;
• implement effective anti-fraud mechanisms;
• raise awareness of the problem of corruption and promote ethical patterns of behaviour;
• minimise the effects of fraud;
• protect the financial interests of the EU and the state budget (when information about suspected fraud is received).

Intermediate Body for Integrated Territorial Investments of the Białystok Functional Area has internal regulations concerning fraud issues, which make up a coherent system of appropriate fraud risk management. As the Intermediate Body for Integrated Territorial Investments of the Białystok Functional Area should be perceived as an institution against any fraud in its operations, it is obliged to take into account all warning signs, i.e. behaviour indicating that fraud may have been or is being committed.

If you encountered any type of fraud within the framework of the activities undertaken by the Intermediate Body for Integrated Territorial Investments of the Białystok Functional Area, you can send a report by post to:

Stowarzyszenie Białostockiego Obszaru Funkcjonalnego, Mickiewicza 74/6 Street, 15-232 Białystok

or

by e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

with the annotation "Anti-corruption activities".

To raise awareness of fraud, the Intermediate Body for Integrated Territorial Investments of the Białystok Functional Area recommends reading the following documents and information on the websites:

• The practical guide on conflict of interest in public procurement procedures
• The practical guide on detecting false documents
• Recommendations for anti-corruption proceedings in public procurement
• Fraud risk assessment and effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/informat/2014/guidance_fraud_risk_assessment_pl.pdf
• The European Anti-Fraud Office guidelines to combat bid rigging http://www.oecd.org/competition/cartels/42945908.pdf
• Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/documents/managing-business-risk.pdf
• Anti-corruption handbook for civil servants: antykorupcja.gov.pl
• Anti-corruption handbook for entrepreneurs: antykorupcja.gov.pl
• Conflict of interest in Polish government administration - law, practice, attitudes: antykorupcja.gov.pl
• Declaration on preventing and counteracting fraud and corruption
• Policy on counteracting fraud in the Association of Białystok Functional Area
• The register of potential fraud alerts
• OLAF - European Anti-Fraud Office