1. The EPPO shall establish and maintain a close relationship with OLAF based on mutual cooperation within their respective mandates and on information exchange. The relationship shall aim in particular to ensure that all available means are used to protect the Union’s financial interests through the complementarity and support by OLAF to the EPPO.
2. Without prejudice to the actions set out in paragraph 3, where the EPPO conducts a criminal investigation in accordance with this Regulation, OLAF shall not open any parallel administrative investigation into the same facts.
3. In the course of an investigation by the EPPO, the EPPO may request OLAF, in accordance with OLAF’s mandate, to support or complement the EPPO’s activity in particular by:
(a)
providing information, analyses (including forensic analyses), expertise and operational support;
(b)
facilitating coordination of specific actions of the competent national administrative authorities and bodies of the Union;
(c)
conducting administrative investigations.
4. The EPPO may, with a view to enabling OLAF to consider appropriate administrative action in accordance with its mandate, provide relevant information to OLAF on cases where the EPPO has decided not to conduct an investigation or has dismissed a case.
5. The EPPO shall have indirect access to information in OLAF’s case management system on the basis of a hit/no hit system. Whenever a match is found between data entered into the case management system by the EPPO and data held by OLAF, the fact that there is a match shall be communicated to both OLAF and the EPPO. The EPPO shall take appropriate measures to enable OLAF to have access to information in its case management system on the basis of a hit/no-hit system.