Anticorruption Officer
Table of contents
Tasks
The Anticorruption Officer is a confidential counsellor appointed by the University Executive Board who acts as a neutral contact for TU Dresden employees and students as well as for business partners or other third parties who have contact with the university.
The main task of the Anticorruption Officer is to accept any reports of suspected corruption and to check independently whether these could be based on facts and whether these are relevant with regard to criminal law. In the case of well-founded suspicion of corruption, she notifies the University Executive Board and submits proposals for carrying out internal investigations as well as for initiating measures against obfuscation (e.g. withdrawal of certain ongoing business transactions, securing the workspace, etc.).
Other tasks include providing comprehensive advice to the University Executive Board, organizational units, and employees on issues relating to preventing and combating corruption.
Contact
The Antcorruption Officer can be contacted via the contact details below, without having to go through official channels. Confidential or anonymous reports can be submitted via all contact channels.
© Frank Pawella
Frank Pawella
Antikorruptionsbeauftragter
Send encrypted mail via the SecureMail portal (for TUD external users only).
Corruption – definition
Corruption is defined as the abuse of an official function in favor of another in order to obtain a benefit for oneself or a third party (Administrative Regulation on Anti-Corruption of December 11, 2015, II. No. 1a). Benefits in this sense primarily include monetary payments, non-cash assets (e.g., books), as well as assets with monetary value (e.g. vouchers, event tickets, or meal invitations) to which there is no entitlement (Administrative Regulation on Rewards, Gifts, and Other Benefits of October 12, 2011, II. No. 1).
Acts of corruption under the Criminal Code include, in particular, accepting benefits (Section 331 of the Criminal Code), taking bribes (Section 332 of the Criminal Code), granting benefits (Section 333 of the Criminal Code), and giving bribes (Section 334 of the Criminal Code).
At-risk areas
The risk of corruption traditionally exists in those areas of the university’s responsibilities in which decisions have special material or immaterial effects for others, e.g., in the awarding of contracts, auditing, and also the filling of positions. The danger of other abuse of office in the case of insufficiently clear separation of official and private interests relating to business trips, part-time activities, and the use of third-party funds should also be mentioned in this context.
Consequences
In public administration, corruption leads not only to considerable economic losses, but also to noticeable damage to the reputation and loss of trust in the institution concerned.
In addition to the overall societal dimension, corrupt behavior can result in criminal sanctions (fines or imprisonment) as well as labor law or disciplinary measures for individuals. In the event of economic losses, claims for damages must also be expected.
Combating corruption
As one of the largest technical universities in Germany with the status of a University of Excellence, the effective prevention and active combat of corrupt behavior is a key obligation for TU Dresden. Preventive anticorruption measures include regularly raising awareness and training staff, often with the help of e-learning modules.
In the interest of further combating corruption, a separate office was established in July 2018. The Anticorruption Officer performs both preventive tasks, in particular advisory tasks, and reactionary tasks, in particular when investigating reports of suspected corruption.
However, the success of prosecuting corruption as a joint objective of employees and the University Executive Board can only be ensured if employees also fulfill their obligation to report any well-founded suspicion of corruption to their supervisor or the Anticorruption Officer without delay.
Further information
You can find more information on the above and other relevant topics in the Internal Area of the website, including these topics:
Anticorruption at TU Dresden, the tasks and duties of the Anticorruption Officer, contact options, legal basis, information on corruption prevention in individual areas (gifts, third-party funding, sponsoring and donations, procurement, business trips, invitations, hosting events of a representative nature), as well as training opportunities and informational material.