Mr Giovanni Kessler has been Italian Public Prosecutor for fifteen years at the Courts of Trento and Bolzano and at the anti-mafia prosecution office of Caltanissetta (Sicily).

 

Member of the Italian Parliament from 2001 to 2006. Ranking member of the Justice Committee Member and Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

 

Director General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) for a seven-year term since 2011. OLAF is the office in charge for conducting independent investigations into fraud and corruption affecting the financial interests of the European Union, as well as into serious misconduct by staff and members of the EU institutions.

 

In 2018 he was Director of the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, which controls the security of imports, collects duties and excises and regulates and controls the national market of tobacco and games.

 

In his career, he participated as Judicial expert in EU Commission and Council of Europe evaluation missions on corruption, judiciary, and rule of law in several Eastern European countries.

 

In 1999 and 2000 he was Deputy Head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, and Head of the Police and Justice Department.

 

He has been member and leader of several international associations in the field of rule of law, including International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), European Partners Against Corruption/European Anti-Corruption Network (EPAC/EACN).

 

He is now retired and works with anti-corruption NGOs in several European countries.