.BAK - Introduction

With the entry into force of the Federal Law on the Establishment and Organization of the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) as of 1 January 2010, the Federal Bureau for Internal Affairs (BIA) was transformed into the BAK.

The BAK is an institution of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. Organizationally speaking, it is, de jure, established outside the Directorate-General for Public Security and has nationwide jurisdiction in

• the prevention of and the fight against corruption,
• the close cooperation with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Corruption (KStA) and
• security police and criminal police cooperation with foreign and international anti-corruption institutions.

Corruption is a complex phenomenon which has to be tackled in a holistic way. According to its legal mandate, the BAK follows a 4-pillar approach:

• Prevention – includes, inter alia, the analysis of corruption phenomena and the development of adequate
  preventive measures.
• Education – through information transfer as well as educational and awareness raising campaigns.
• Law enforcement – i.e. security police and criminal police investigations.
• Cooperation – with national and international institutions working in the field of preventing and combating 
  corruption, as well as exchange of best practices.