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This paper will consider the role of OLAF in the fight against EU fraud. It will examine its powers and its capacity to coordinate the activities of anti-fraud agencies in twenty seven member states and it will also consider the constraints which prevent it from operating in a more effective manner. The paper will also consider OLAF’s relationship with other transnational agencies such as Eurojust and Europol and will seek to highlight the degree of fragmentation which exists with a multiplicity of actors involved in the fight against fraud, a fragmented legal approach and the difficulties this presents in attempting to police sophisticated transnational frauds. The effect of EU expansion on this situation will also be considered and the support offered to new member states who have been asked to bring their anti-fraud structures up to the standards of existing members within a very short period of time will be examined. The efforts of the Czech Republic in seeking to build up anti-fraud structures and systems will be covered in some detail. The paper will seek to draw wider lessons which could be of benefit to prospective member states and to OLAF itself. The paper will conclude that despite the best efforts of the actors involved, a fragmented legal system and institutions are hampering the fight against fraud.
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