European Union prosecutors have reported a 35% year‑on‑year surge in financial crime investigations, with estimated damage to EU and national budgets rising to more than €67 billion, and are urging member states to grant them stronger powers to tackle increasingly sophisticated VAT and customs fraud.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) says these crimes are reshaping the EU’s criminal ecosystem, warning that without enhanced mandates, resources and access to data, organised networks exploiting EU funds and tax systems will continue to expand.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has reported a steep rise in financial crime cases damaging EU and national budgets, while pressing governments for wider powers, resources and data access to combat a fast‑evolving criminal industry dominated by VAT and customs fraud.
Sharp increase in fraud cases and financial damage
As reported by the Anadolu Agency, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office was handling 3,602 active investigations at the end of 2025, a 35% increase compared with the previous year. Anadolu noted that the estimated damage linked to these cases reached €67.27 billion, equivalent to about $73 billion, affecting both EU and national budgets.
According to the same report, this represents nearly a tripling of estimated losses compared with 2024, when damage had been put at €24.8 billion.
Anadolu further stated that in 2025 alone the EPPO opened 2,030 new investigations, itself a 35% year‑on‑year increase, with those new cases carrying an estimated damage of €48.7 billion.
The agency underlined that the EPPO’s 2025 figures confirm a clear acceleration from 2024, when the office had been actively pursuing 2,666 investigations with estimated damage of €24.8 billion, as summarised by legal analysis of the 2024 annual report. Commentators have pointed out that the rising numbers reflect both better detection and the growing scale of fraud schemes targeting EU finances.
VAT and customs fraud at the core of the criminal ecosystem
According to Anadolu’s coverage of the EPPO’s annual report, more than two‑thirds of the total estimated damage in 2025 – €45.01 billion out of €67.27 billion – stems from value‑added tax and customs fraud.
The outlet stressed that these VAT and customs cases accounted for just 27% of active investigations, underscoring that a relatively small number of high‑impact schemes drives the majority of the financial losses. In its own communication, the EPPO has warned that customs and VAT fraud are reshaping the criminal ecosystem in the EU, with schemes worth an estimated €45 billion in damage.
As highlighted by Anadolu, the EPPO report warns that revenue fraud has evolved into a “highly profitable criminal industry”, often involving large‑scale organised crime networks. Earlier expert commentary on EPPO activities has described how complex cross‑border VAT fraud has become a major revenue stream for organised crime, frequently linked to other serious offences.
Legal analysts have pointed out that the EPPO’s cross‑border mandate has enabled major operations against VAT carousel schemes, but the scope of criminal activity continues to expand.
Expenditure fraud, EU funds and recovery programmes
Anadolu reported that expenditure fraud cases – including misuse of EU funds, subsidies and aid – represented 68% of active investigations in 2025. However, the same report stressed that these expenditure cases were responsible for only 27% of the overall estimated damage, illustrating the comparatively higher financial impact of VAT and customs schemes.
Earlier analysis of the EPPO’s 2024 annual report noted a steady rise in investigations into fraud involving EU funds, including structural funds and agricultural subsidies.
As summarised by Anadolu, the EPPO’s annual report highlighted a sharp rise in cases linked to the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the EU’s flagship post‑pandemic funding programme. According to Anadolu’s account, there were 512 active investigations connected to the Recovery and Resilience Facility in 2025, up nearly 67% from 2024.
Previous legal commentary on EPPO activity in 2024 had already underlined that misuse of Recovery and Resilience Facility money was an emerging priority, with several hundred active cases and billions of euros in estimated damage.
Laura Kövesi’s warnings on future risks
As reported by Anadolu, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi said the latest figures reflect both the scale of criminal activity and the expanding workload of the EU’s first transnational prosecution body. Anadolu quoted Kövesi as stating:
“By the end of 2025, we had 3,602 active cases, for a total estimated damage of over €67.27 billion. This is huge. Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to increase in the coming years.”
The Anadolu article underlined that this warning implies that the current surge in cases is unlikely to be a short‑term phenomenon.
In the same coverage, Anadolu reported Kövesi’s comments on VAT and customs fraud, quoting her as saying:
“With 981 ongoing VAT and customs fraud cases worth €45.01 billion in estimated damage to European and national budgets, we are making a dent in a criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for far too long.”
Anadolu added that she warned such fraud threatens not only public finances but also EU security. Earlier interventions by Kövesi, as chronicled by legal observers, have stressed that VAT fraud should be treated as a political priority because it feeds organised crime and undermines trust in EU institutions.
Calls for stronger powers, resources and data access
While the Euractiv article referenced in social media posts focuses on the headline message that EU prosecutors are seeking stronger powers, wider legal and expert commentary has provided context for these demands.
As reported by Sandra Grabmeier for Steppo‑eulaw in an analysis of Kövesi’s earlier address to the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee, the European Chief Prosecutor has argued that the EPPO needs increased funding, more specialised investigators and a revision of its regulatory framework to enhance effectiveness against cross‑border financial crime.
In that Steppo‑eulaw commentary, Grabmeier stated that Kövesi stressed the fight against VAT and customs fraud should be a political priority for the EU, arguing that without strong political backing and resources “the scope of the problem will continue to grow”.
The same analysis reported that Kövesi called for closer collaboration between the EPPO and Europol, including a reinforced role for Europol in supporting EPPO investigations through improved intelligence sharing. Legal experts have linked these requests to the broader discussion on granting the EPPO direct or streamlined access to EU‑wide VAT data and other tax information.
According to a European Commission communication on strengthening cooperation between Eurofisc, the EPPO and OLAF, current arrangements require the EPPO and OLAF to obtain VAT information through separate channels in each member state, which is ill‑suited to large cross‑border schemes.
The Commission’s proposal, as summarised in that document, would provide a legal basis for direct and centralised access to relevant VAT information and more structured communication with Eurofisc. Policymakers argue that such changes would significantly improve the ability of EU bodies to detect patterns and intervene quickly in multi‑jurisdiction fraud.
Rising conviction rates, asset freezes and enforcement impact
In its own communication on judicial activity, the EPPO has reported that its conviction rate in cases brought before national courts is close to 95%. According to that EPPO update, 275 indictments were filed in 2025, a 34% increase compared with 2024. The same communication stated that judges granted freezing orders worth €1.13 billion in EPPO investigations, with assets actually frozen during 2025 valued at €288.93 million.
Earlier analysis of the 2024 annual report by law firm Houthoff noted that crime reports to the EPPO had risen sharply, totalling 6,547 and marking a 56% increase from 2023. The Houthoff summary pointed out that these reports largely originated from private parties, indicating growing awareness of the EPPO’s role. Legal commentary from Forensic Risk Alliance on the EPPO’s enforcement reach highlighted that in 2024 the office froze assets worth €849 million, nearly 11 times its own annual budget, underscoring its impact as a deterrent.
Structural trends since the EPPO’s launch
As recounted in analysis by Ilaria Sticchi for Steppo‑eulaw on the EPPO’s 2024 annual report, more than 1,500 new investigations were opened in 2024, nearly 10% more than the previous year, representing €13.07 billion in estimated damage.
Sticchi wrote that the increase was mainly the result of improved cooperation between the EPPO and national authorities and a sharpened focus on criminal organisations active in VAT fraud and fraud involving EU funds. The same analysis noted a steady rise in criminal investigations since the EPPO became operational in 2021, concluding that crime against the EU’s financial interests had “long been underestimated”.
Forensic Risk Alliance’s overview of EPPO activity described how, by the end of 2024, the office was pursuing 2,666 investigations, a 38% increase year on year. According to that commentary, estimated damage under investigation reached €24.8 billion in 2024, with more than half – €13.2 billion – linked to complex cross‑border VAT fraud often involving organised networks.
The same analysis emphasised that investigations into the misuse of NextGenerationEU funds were rapidly increasing, with over 300 active cases and damage exceeding €2.8 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility alone.
Political and policy implications for the European Union
Expert commentary around the latest EPPO figures suggests that the sharp rise in financial crime cases and losses poses significant challenges for EU policymakers. Legal scholars and practitioners note that the EPPO’s success in uncovering previously hidden or underestimated fraud exposes vulnerabilities in EU spending programmes and tax systems.
At the same time, they argue that the office’s demands for stronger powers, additional resources and better access to data reflect the scale and complexity of the threats it faces.
Analysts point out that proposed reforms to enhance cooperation between Eurofisc, the EPPO and OLAF, and to provide centralised access to VAT information, are likely to be closely scrutinised by member states wary of sharing sensitive fiscal data. However, advocates of reform contend that without such steps, the EU will struggle to keep pace with criminal networks operating seamlessly across borders.
The continuing rise in EPPO caseloads, combined with high conviction rates and increasing asset seizures, indicates that the battle against fraud targeting EU finances is intensifying and will remain a central issue in the Union’s justice and financial governance agenda.
