A critical appraisal of the role of UCLAF

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to consider the mission of Unité de Coordination de la Lutte Anti‐Fraud (UCLAF); how it cooperated with Member States and how it accounted for its actions. The paper seeks to detail examples of its investigations and to consider the criticisms made of UCLAF by the European Court of Auditors and the Committee of Independent Experts which had been established to investigate allegations of fraud, nepotism and mismanagement within the European Commission. It will also seek to draw lessons from the UCLAF experience for the future fight against EU fraud. Design/methodology/approach - The paper used a combination of semi‐structured interviews with EU and national officials in the UK and Ireland as well as a review of secondary materials such as organisational reports and academic sources. Findings - The paper found that the fight against fraud was fatally undermined by the high degree of fragmentation due to the multiplicity of national and EU agencies involved. There were some self‐inflicted weaknesses on the part of UCLAF such as poor use of intelligence databases and the employment of a high number of staff on temporary contracts which led to high‐staff turnover and disrupted the investigative process. Practical implications - The paper reveals how not to fight against transnational fraud. Lessons need to be learned from the UCLAF experience, so that the same mistakes are not made again. Originality/value - The paper is an addition to a body of work which is not particularly extensive. It strives to offer some lessons for the future fight against fraud.