Federal Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption

	Federal Office for Prevention and Fight against Corruption ; Austrian Authority
State level	Federation
Position of the authority	subordinate agency
At sight	federal Ministry of Internal Affairs
founding	2012
Headquarters	Vienna, Herrengasse 7
Authority management	Andreas Wieselthaler
Website	www.bak.gv.at

The BAK is housed in the Meidlinger barracks

The Federal Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption , or BAK for short , is an institution of the Federal Ministry of the Interior , which is regulated by the Federal Law on the Federal Office for the Prevention and Combat of Corruption ( BAK-G ). In 2012, the BAK replaced the previously existing Office for Internal Affairs (BIA) .

General

In terms of organization, the BAK is located outside the General Directorate for Public Safety and is responsible for nationwide

the prevention, prevention and fight against corruption,
the close cooperation with the business and corruption attorney ( WKStA )
Performing central functions in the area of security and criminal police cooperation with foreign and international anti-corruption institutions

organization

The BAK is headed by the director, currently Mag. Andreas Wieselthaler, or by the deputy director if he is unable to attend. After a hearing by the President of the Constitutional Court , the Administrative Court and the Supreme Court , they are appointed by the Minister of the Interior for a term of office of five years; reappointments are possible. The Board of Directors is prohibited from any paid secondary employment, with the exception of publications and teaching activities.

The BAK is divided into 3 departments, within these departments into individual sections:

Department IV / BAK / 1 - Resources, Support and Legal
Department IV / BAK / 2 - Prevention, Education and International Cooperation
Department IV / BAK / 3 - Operations Service

The BAK currently employs around 120 people

Legal basis

The Federal Act on the establishment and organization of the Federal Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption (BAK-G), which came into force on January 1, 2010 and was most recently amended with Federal Law Gazette I No. 52/2015, forms the legal basis for the Federal Office Corruption prevention and fight against corruption (BAK).

With this federal act, Austria complies with international requirements and obligations with regard to the establishment of independent national institutions for the prevention and fight against corruption. In particular, the United Nations Convention against Corruption ( UNCAC ) ratified by Austria on January 11, 2006 calls on the contracting states in Articles 6 and 36 to create such authorities. In this sense, the BAK is both a prevention agency according to Art. 6 and a “Law Enforcement” facility according to Art. 36 of the UNCAC.

The tasks of the BAK are regulated under § 4 BAK-G:

Section 4. (1) The Federal Office is responsible nationwide for security and criminal police matters due to the following criminal acts:

Abuse of official authority (Section 302 of the Criminal Code - StGB , Federal Law Gazette No. 60/1974),
Bribery (§ 304 StGB),
Acceptance of benefits (§ 305 StGB),
Acceptance of benefits to influence (§ 306 StGB),
Bribery (§ 307 StGB),
Granting of benefits (Section 307a StGB),
Granting of benefits to influence (§ 307b StGB),
Prohibited intervention (§ 308 StGB), 8a. Violation of official secrecy (§ 310 StGB), 8b. Violations of Section 18 of the Information Regulation Act,
Infidelity taking advantage of an official position or with the participation of a public official (Section 153 (2), second case, 313 or in conjunction with Section 74 (1) no. 4a of the Criminal Code),
Acceptance of gifts by those in power (Section 153a StGB),
Agreements restricting competition in procurement procedures (Section 168b StGB) and serious fraud (Section 147 StGB) as well as commercial fraud (Section 148 StGB) on the basis of such an agreement,
Offenses against the acceptance of gifts under the Criminal Code as well as under the criminal ancillary laws of public employees from the department of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, insofar as these are to be prosecuted by the Federal Office via a written order from a court or a public prosecutor's office and bribery of employees or agents (Section 309 StGB),
Money laundering (Section 165 of the Criminal Code), insofar as the assets result from an offense or crime mentioned in items 1 to 8, items 9, 11, second and third cases and item 12, criminal association or organization (Sections 278 and 278a of the Criminal Code) insofar as the association or organization is geared towards the commission of the offenses or crimes specified in items 1 to 9 and item 11, second and third cases,
criminal acts according to the Criminal Code as well as the ancillary criminal law, insofar as they are related to nos. 1 to 13 and insofar as they are to be prosecuted by the Federal Office on the basis of a written order from a court or a public prosecutor's office,
Offenses under the Criminal Code as well as under criminal law by public employees from the department of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, insofar as these are to be prosecuted by the Federal Office on written instructions from a court or a public prosecutor's office.

In the cases of nos. 11 to 13, the Federal Office can only be responsible if the criminal offenses mentioned are relevant for determining the amount of the penalty in accordance with Section 28 (1) 2nd sentence of the Criminal Code.

(2) The Federal Office is responsible for investigations within the framework of international police cooperation and administrative assistance or for cooperation with the competent institutions of the European Union and with the investigative authorities of the member states of the European Union in the cases mentioned in Paragraph 1. With regard to international police cooperation, the Federal Office is the central national contact for OLAF, Interpol, Europol and other comparable international institutions in matters covered by Paragraph 1 Z 1 to 13. Section 4 (1) of the Federal Criminal Police Office Act, Federal Law Gazette I No. 22/2002, remains unaffected.

(3) In the context of the analysis of corruption phenomena, the Federal Office shall draw up findings on how to prevent, prevent and combat them and implement them in suitable preventive measures.

Instructions, assignments and reporting obligations

Instructions

Instructions to the Federal Office regarding the handling of cases in a specific procedure must be given in writing and substantiated. Any verbal instructions initially given for special reasons, in particular due to imminent danger, must be submitted immediately in writing (regulated under Section 7 BAK-G).

Commissioning of departments

For reasons of expediency, the BAK can commission other agencies to carry out individual investigations or, if there is no particular public interest, delegate investigations in their entirety (Section 6 BAK-G).

Reporting requirement

The security authorities or agencies that become aware of a criminal offense that falls within the competence of the BAK must immediately report this in writing to the BAK (decree on the establishment and organization of the BAK).

Every federal employee can report the suspicion of a criminal offense that falls within the competence of the BAK directly to the BAK outside of official channels. (§5 BAK-G)

Preliminary investigation

Cases of corruption can be reported via the WKSTA's whistleblower tool or to the SPOC (Single Point of Contact) at the BAK (as well as at every police station). If the BAK receives a notice, the BAK, in cooperation with the public prosecutor's office, is obliged to clarify the initial suspicion that it has come to know ex officio in an investigation. In any case, the BAK is obliged to report the information received to the responsible public prosecutor's office, even if the BAK does not believe there is any initial suspicion or there are doubts about the existence of an initial suspicion. The results of the investigation are sent at regular intervals in the form of reports to the (WK) StA, which can issue further orders if necessary. Once the investigations have been completed, the BAK sends a final report to the (WK) StA. The public prosecutor's office decides whether to bring this application to court, i.e. whether to bring charges, or whether to discontinue it.

Investigative powers

The BAK does not have any special rights and, like every criminal police department, is bound by the relevant security police and criminal procedure provisions, i.e. investigative measures include, for example, interrogations, house searches, telecommunications surveillance, observation, etc.

The BAK can entrust other offices (e.g. state criminal investigation offices, police inspections) with the implementation of individual investigations or the investigation as a whole, if this is appropriate.

Legal protection

According to § 8 BAK-G, a legal protection commission consisting of the legal protection officer according to § 91a SPG and two other members has been set up to provide special legal protection with regard to issues related to the activities of the Federal Office at the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The other members are appointed by the Federal President at the proposal of the Federal Government after hearing the Presidents of the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court and the Supreme Court for a period of five years. Re-appointments are also permitted. Anyone who has been director or deputy of the Federal Office in the past twelve years may not be appointed as a further member.

All members of the Legal Protection Commission are independent in carrying out their tasks and are not bound by any instructions, and they are also subject to official secrecy.

Corruption Prevention

The BAK has the legal mandate, within the framework of the analysis of corruption phenomena, to create knowledge about their prevention, prevention and control and to implement these in suitable preventive measures.

According to the BAK's understanding, corruption prevention comprises all measures aimed at preventing corruption. The BAK makes use of a comprehensive, evidence-based set of instruments geared towards sustainable effects.

Prevention projects

When carrying out prevention projects, findings from scientific research into causes and basic research are converted into concrete prevention recommendations. Topic areas for the prevention projects arise, among other things, from cases processed and closed in the investigation area, which indicate areas at risk of corruption.

Integrity Officer Network

To promote the integrity of civil servants, the BAK is establishing a network of integrity officers and training civil servants to become experts in questions of promoting integrity and preventing corruption. These integrity officers should act as multipliers of the concept of integrity in their organizational units.

Publications

Corruption and abuse of office

Basics, definitions and examples for §§ 302, 304 to 311 StGB as well as other practice-relevant facts in the area of corruption. ISBN 978-3-214-03875-5