Fraud prevention

The goal of fraud prevention is to develop the project management process to prevent the opportunity of unintentional misuse and make it more difficult to engage in intentional misuse or potentially prevent it.

The managing authority for the Innovation and Skills in Finland programme and the intermediate bodies undertake to adhere to high legal, ethical and moral standards, and comply with the principles of integrity, impartiality and honesty.

The managing authority and the intermediate bodies combat fraud and corruption and apply zero tolerance to fraud and corruption. This is also required of recipients of support in structural fund projects. All suspicions of irregularities and fraud will be exhaustively investigated, regardless of whether the suspicions are targeted at a recipient of support or a civil servant.

Concepts

  • The terms “misuse” and “irregularity” refer to all intentional and unintentional acts because of which public funds are used contrary to their defined purpose.
  • Fraud is a deliberate act of deception intended for personal gain. Examples of fraud include subsidy fraud, embezzlement, bribery, forgery and violation of official duty. Fraud is an intentional act for obtaining unjustified financial gain. The impact of fraud extends beyond the financial dimension. It may also hurt the reputation of an organisation responsible for the effective and productive management of assets.
  • The term “corruption” means the misuse of authority for personal gain. Such misuse can be illegal or otherwise unethical. Corruption can materialise in conflicts of interest or dual roles, cartels, the revolving door phenomenon (decision makers transferring from the public sector to business life, and vice versa), accepting and offering bribes, inappropriate efforts to affect another person’s decisions, and favouritism granted to friends or family. In Finland, it is characteristic of corruption that activities are legal but unethical. Read more about corruption (Link to external website)
  • A situation involves a conflict of interest when impartiality and objectivity are jeopardised in carrying out tasks due to the family, emotions, political or national preferences or financial gain, or any other reasons related to common interests with a party applying for or receiving EU funds. In the event of a conflict of interest, an individual cannot make a fair decision, as it may have an impact on themselves. The Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003) lays down provisions on disqualification, or conflicts of interest, in administrative tasks.

Reporting fraud