FRAUD

FRAUD - Tackling Financial and Benefit Fraud in the Baltic Sea Region.

About FRAUD

The overall goal of FRAUD is to contribute to raising awareness, building capacity, and fostering cooperation on anti-trafficking work in the Baltic Sea Region, specifically focusing on financial and benefit fraud. Financial and benefit fraud have been in the Baltic Sea Region as a phenomenon with evident connections to human trafficking. However, more evidence-based information, legal conceptualisations and knowledge are urgently required. As a pathfinder project, FRAUD takes the first steps in the Baltic Sea Region to explore the connection to human trafficking, consider the victim perspective, and support a more comprehensive and coherent approach to identifying and tackling this issue.

Background

Trafficking in human beings is a severe threat towards the institutions and states of the Baltic Sea Region. In their criminal schemes, traffickers apply a set of strategies to maximise profit when exploiting vulnerable persons. Information from the region shows that one strategy entails utilising the personal data of vulnerable persons or victims to exploit the welfare systems in the different member states. 

For this reason, the Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings at the Council of the Baltic Sea States has partnered with key institutions and organisations in the CBSS member states to shed light on the nexus between human trafficking and welfare-related crimes such as benefit fraud, through the international project FRAUD.

Activities

  • A study on financial and benefit fraud in the Baltic Sea Region, complemented with the creation of victim profiles on financial and benefit fraud
  • Four online national workshops in partner countries (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden) to support national dialogue and  gather information for the study
  • Study trip to the United Kingdom to learn about financial and benefit fraud and to identify good practices
  • Online webinar on Financial and Benefit fraud focusing on disseminating the results of the project and raising awareness on benefit and financial fraud in the Baltic Sea Region
  • Workshop on the anti-trafficking coordinators’ level and drafting a planning document for further cooperation to tackle financial and benefit fraud

Organisers/partners

  • Council of the Baltic Sea States (Project lead)
  • University of Tartu (Estonia)
  • Ministry of Interior (Latvia) 
  • National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking (Finland) 
  • Swedish Civil Society platform (Sweden)
  • Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Sweden)

Duration

November 2023 – January 2025

Funding

Contacts

Edi Mujaj, Senior Adviser TF-THB Unit, phone: +46 70 276 52 29, email: [email protected]

Veikko Mäkelä, Project Officer TF-THB Unit, phone: +46 72 589 02 22; email: [email protected]