An Analysis on Embezzlement of Aid in West Africa.
“Wherever European Union funds are spent, within or outside Europe, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) can investigate. OLAF cooperates with partner organisations in non-EU countries to ensure that EU development and humanitarian aid reaches its intended beneficiaries without being diverted by fraud and corruption.”
This statement from OLAF is part of an investigation into suspected fraud committed by a Dutch company in Mauritania this January. OLAF recommended that the European Commission undertake appropriate measures to recover a total of €3,068,000. The OLAF investigators found gross breaches of the procurement procedures, a violation of the rules on subcontracting, and strong indications of the active corruption of two Mauritanian officials. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case.
Another example showing the ease in which EU taxpayers’ money can be misused to enrich the coffers of corrupt leaders has been going on for years in West Africa. One such case relates to the European Union’s annual €10 million humanitarian assistance destined to the Tindouf camps, parts of which were diverted. In 2015 OLAF uncovered that instead of reaching the refugees in need, a large portion of the funds were taken by Polisario leaders. They resold crucial humanitarian aid in black markets in Algeria and Mauritania. This information was produced by OLAF following an in-depth investigation, which strangely was never made public.
According to AFP who obtained a copy of the report, “The document lays serious charges and mentions the names of the individuals suspected of being the planners of these embezzlements.”
The selection of the humanitarian assistance between what will be dispatched to the Tindouf camps and what will be diverted starts upon arrival at the Algerian port of Oran, says AFP, implying that Algerian officials are also involved in the embezzlement scheme.
So why has this OLAF report been kept out of the public eye? Is it too damning? Is it too embarrassing? Two things are certain: Firstly, transparency should be an uncompromising condition for the provision of humanitarian aid anywhere in the world. Secondly, aid belongs to the people who really need it, not to cynical leaders who oppress and exploit them. This fuels a vicious and inexcusable cycle of exploitation in a time where European taxpayers are struggling to pay their monthly electricity bills.
Though many individuals and organizations defraud the EU, Polisario has a history of exploiting foreign aid donated by the EU, going back two decades to 2003. The EU knows this. OLAF knows this. It’s about time they did something about it before more European money is thrown down the drain.
