About us

The EU Funds Corruption Controller is a public, evidence-based platform that documents how corruption and related financial crime affect the European Union and the people who live in it. It collects verified cases, official reports and independent analysis in one place, so that citizens, journalists, researchers and policymakers can see the problem as it actually is: concrete, measurable and, in many cases, preventable.

Corruption is often discussed in general terms, as a moral failing or a distant scandal. The Calculator starts from a different premise. Every case of bribery, procurement fraud, misused subsidies or evaded tax has a cost, and that cost is paid by taxpayers, honest businesses and public services. By presenting cases with their sources, dates, countries and outcomes, the platform turns a diffuse concern into information that can be searched, compared and checked.

What you can find here

The archive of cases brings together investigations, indictments, court decisions and administrative findings from across the Union. Each entry is based on public sources, such as the announcements of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), national prosecutors and courts, and reputable media. Cases can be browsed by country, by type of offence and by period. Where a case is still open, we say so: an investigation or an indictment is not a conviction, and the Calculator treats the presumption of innocence as a rule rather than a footnote.

Alongside individual cases, the Calculator offers context. The atlas shows how corruption risks and enforcement activity are distributed across Member States. The calculator translates large sums of misused public money into everyday terms, such as hospitals, teachers or kilometres of railway, because a figure in the millions is easier to ignore than to picture. News and reports follow legislative and institutional developments, from the work of EU prosecutors to national reforms and new anti-corruption rules.

Why it matters at EU level

The European Union spends a significant share of its budget through national authorities, regional administrations and thousands of beneficiaries. This shared management creates many points where money can be diverted, and many authorities that must cooperate to stop it. Fraud against EU funds, cross-border VAT schemes and bribery in public contracts rarely respect national borders. A scheme may involve companies in several countries, bank accounts in others and officials in yet another, which is why a European overview is useful. Patterns that look like isolated incidents in one country can look very different when seen together.

Corruption also damages the foundations of liberal democracy. It distorts competition, because contracts go to the best connected rather than the best bidder. It weakens trust in institutions, because citizens who see rules bent for a few stop believing in rules for everyone. It undermines the rule of law, because enforcement that is selective or slow signals that wrongdoing carries little risk. Protecting the integrity of public decision-making is therefore not a technical matter; it is a condition of freedom and equal opportunity.

How we work

The Calculator is built on a few simple principles. We rely on public, verifiable sources and link to them. We distinguish allegations from findings, and findings from final judgments. We explain terms and procedures in plain language, so that a reader does not need legal training to follow a case. We update entries when proceedings move forward, and we correct errors when they are pointed out.

The platform does not replace investigators, prosecutors or independent journalists, and it does not accuse anyone. Its role is to gather what is already public, organise it and make it understandable. Transparency is the first tool against corruption: what can be seen can be questioned, and what can be questioned can be improved.

Who it is for

Citizens can use the Calculator to understand how public money is protected, and where it is not. Journalists and researchers can use it as a starting point for their own work, with links to primary sources. Policymakers and civil servants can use it to compare enforcement across countries and to identify where rules, resources or cooperation fall short. Everyone is welcome to read the explanations, explore the data and share what they find. A Europe that is open about its failures is better placed to correct them.

The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is the European political foundation of the liberal family. Founded in 2007 and based in Brussels, it brings together liberal think tanks, political foundations and institutes from across Europe. Together with a network of more than 50 member organisations, it works to shape the agenda for a freer and fairer world.

ELF’s objective is a liberal, prosperous Europe that provides opportunities for all citizens, and where the EU’s liberal values of freedom, democracy, equality and human rights are defended. It acts as an incubator for European policy debates and develops comprehensive liberal solutions to real-life problems.

What we do

• Research and policy development: policy papers, studies and briefs on the questions facing Europe, including the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
• Events: regular events that bring together experts, practitioners, politicians and citizens to discuss contemporary challenges.
• Publications: reports, discussion papers and the Future Europe Journal.
• Education and training: promoting active citizenship and civic engagement within the European Union.

The EU Funds Corruption Controller is one way in which this work reaches the public: it turns research and open data into a resource that anyone can use.

Learn more at liberalforum.eu.