The fight against fraud.

A Belgian perspective.

Carl Devlies
Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of the Fight against Fraud

European Healthcare Fraud & Corruption Network, 7th Annual Conference,

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

2
Fight against fraud priority for new 2008
government
 specific Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of
the Fight against Fraud appointed
 2 new bodies:
- Ministerial Committee for the fight against fraud,
presided by Prime Minister and bringing together all
competent Ministers (Labour, Social Affairs,
Economy, Justice, Home Affairs, Finance,…)
- College of top level civil servants, presided by
Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of the Fight
against Fraud, joining all administrative expertise in
the various topics

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

3 Approach innovative in 3 different ways

 for the first time all public administrations
concerned in the fight against fraud brought
together in structural collaboration platform
 for the first time an inventory of the available data
in the different authentic databases was drawn up
and needs for complementary data exchange were
listed
 for the first time a comprehensive action plan was
established by the joint administrations themselves
with proposals and suggestions for structural and
thorough measures in mid and long term

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

4 Action Plan established by College

 Central prerequisite: data exchange with strict

respect for privacy rules
 No new structures created but emphasis on
integrated and co-ordinated approach
 Covering whole chain of fraud combating:
- prevention and detection
- efficiency of inspection
- deterring prosecution and sanctioning
- international dimension

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

5
Study of equal application of fiscal and
social legislation (1/2)
 Complexity of laws in tax and social security system
basis for errors
 As Secretary of State explicit mission to look after
equal application of fiscal and social legislation to
all citizens, taxpayers, employers, beneficiaries and
self-employed persons
 Audit of fiscal and social inspection services
 In first phase of study set of relevant indicators to
equal treatment of all inspected subjects developed

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

6
Study of equal application of fiscal and
social legislation (2/2)
 Results disclosed that e.g.not all Belgian enterprises
submitted equally to fiscal inspection
 Inspection risk, duration and results of checks varied
 First conclusions:staff and files not spread according
to administrative burden->regional spreading of
personnel not appropriate / Checks not directed
centrally enough
 In second phase study extended to all social security
inspection services and to income tax service
 By end of 2010: audit’s recommendations delivered
and implementation prepared

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

7 2 Action Plans 2008-2009/2009-2010

 Driven by concern of better prevention and
detection, efficiency of inspection and deterring
prosecution and sanctioning
 Data exchange and data mining introduced on
structural basis and siloed aapproach abandoned
 Idea of managing fraud holistically spectacular an
evolution
 2008-2009: 59 actions (21 in field of finance, 16 in
judicial sphere, 22 in socio-economic domain)
 2009-2010: 49 actions with extension of scope to
regional and international co-operation, fraud in
healthcare, new fraud phenomena
EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference
28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

8 Top 10 realized projects 2008-2009

1. 19 supplementary fiscal civil servants for Police and Counsel
for the prosecution
2. Unit against Money laudering (CFI)informs SIOD of social fraud
3. Improved data exchange between social, fiscal, judicial and
economic administrations (155 million €)
4. Better management of seized and confiscated money and goods
5. More efficient fight against counterfeiting
6. Generalized introduction Checkdoc
7. Targeted controls of 800 suspect enterprises
8. Severe penalties in case of non-declared employment
9. Substantial reduction of so-called C4-fraud (fictitious
employment creating social rights)
10.First nation-wide co-ordinated action in construction sector

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

9 Some meaning projects 2009-2010

1. UNA VIA (only one way for prosecution: either fiscal or judicial)
2. Creation Support (intelligence) Unit Big Organized Social Fraud
3. Strenghtened data exchange and data matching
4. Crossroads Bank of Enterprises will send flashlights of potential
fraud
5. International co-operation (a.o. European Anti-fraud Office
OLAF)
6. Identity check by healthcare provider
7. Introduction dashboard ‘Well functioning Sickness fund’
8. Figurative use social status Self-employed person
9. Creation fiscal platform after the model of social inspection
SIOD-service
10.More targeted inspections in risk sectors

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

10 Some observations (1/3)

 Fight against fraud no longer balancing item of
budget
 In current government methodology immediate
integration of estimated figures for fraud combating
 Coherent package of measures at 190 million € in
2010 and 375 million € in 2011
 21st century challenges for public finances
enormous: 25 billion € yearly
 Cuts in social security expenditures hardly
avoidable; healthcare expenditures represent
majority in Belgian social security system

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

11 Some observations (2/3)

 EHFCN-figures (2009): considerable part of

healthcare budget lost or wasted by fraud, error,
inefficent use !
 Belgium’s healthcare offers work to 400.000 people:
-> from interested motives all of them accountable
for fight against fraud in the sector
 Shared responsibility for 5 P’s (patient/citizen,
payers,providers public authorities, private industry)
 Dishonest minority needs to be tackled without
initiating witch-hunt

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

12 Some observations (3/3)

 Mobilizing honest majority by raising fraud
awareness and making fraud socially unacceptable is
key step
 Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability
and Sickness Funds responsible partners in
administrating healthcare insurance and in managing
fraud
 Possibilities of IT; eHealth platform support of high
quality healthcare and administrative simplification;
tool for enhancing compliance

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

13 Summary
 Integration and co-ordination central in fraud
combating
 Replacing siloed approach by holistic one paid off
 Techniques of automated business rules, predictive
modeling, data matching, intelligence networking
most effective in detecting and combating fraud
 Changing attitudes and behaviour in respect of tax
and benefit fraud remain mid-term goal
 Get and retain full support from all sections of
society (in healthcare from 5P’s) and from across
political spectrum

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010
Staatssecretariaat voor de coördinatie van de Fraudebestrijding – Secrétariat d’Etat à la Coordination de la lutte contre la fraude

14

Thank you for your kind

attention!

carl.devlies@devlies.fed.be
www.carldevlies.be

EHFCN, 7th Annual Conference

28-29/9/2010