The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) opened 1,504 new investigations last year into fraud involving subsidies and tax evasion, according to its 2024 annual report. The total damage to the EU from these crimes is estimated at €13 billion, with more than a quarter linked to crimes in Italy.
The EPPO has been investigating crimes that harm the EU’s financial interests since 2021. Currently, it has 2,666 active investigations with a combined estimated budgetary impact of €25 billion. The 1,504 new investigations in 2024 alone represent a 10% increase from 2023, causing an estimated damage of €13.07 billion.
Italy had the highest number of new investigations, with 458 cases amounting to around €3.5 billion in damages, over a quarter of the total damage from all new investigations in 2024. Germany (€2.47 billion) and Romania (€2.3 billion) also recorded significant impacts on the EU’s finances.
How about Belgium
In Belgium, 30 new investigations were launched, worth €143.4 million in damages. There are still 79 active investigations in the country, totalling nearly €1.5 billion in damages.
Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi argues that the EPPO and Europol need more personnel and resources. Kövesi stated that the EPPO was initially expected to handle a narrow range of criminal activities, but its scope has proven to be much wider.
The EPPO mainly investigates tax evasion and subsidy fraud. Out of all ongoing investigations in the EU, 488 (about 18%) concern VAT fraud, which accounts for more than half of the total damage to the EU budget.
In November last year, the EPPO dismantled a criminal organisation in Italy that had evaded over half a billion euros in VAT payments, affecting at least ten other European countries.
Additionally, the EPPO investigates crimes related to the evasion of import duties. For instance, in April last year, one person and two companies in Belgium were convicted for evading customs duties on imported e-bikes from China.
The bikes were shipped in parts through the Port of Antwerp and assembled domestically. The convicted parties were fined more than €15 million and also required to repay €3.1 million in evaded taxes.
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