Two suspects were arrested yesterday, at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Turin, for their alleged involvement in a VAT carrousel scheme involving the sales of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. An order to freeze assets for the amount of €64.04 million was executed.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Timișoara (Romania) has indicted nine individuals and two companies for subsidy fraud, forgery and bribery, involving three projects regarding the development of fruit harvesting and processing, with a value of over €1.4 million. A tenth individual confessed and signed a plea bargain. 

The Paris Judicial Court approved this week a sentence proposed by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Paris (France) as part of a plea bargain. The director of an association in the Alsace region destined to promote cultural activities was convicted of misappropriating funds for his own personal benefit.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Vilnius (Lithuania), in close cooperation with Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba – FNTT), has expanded its investigation into misappropriation of funds from the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy) is leading an investigation –code-named ‘Dragone’- into a large-scale customs and VAT fraud scheme involving the import of goods from China into the EU.  

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne (Germany) has filed another indictment against one defendant with the Regional Court in Düsseldorf.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Athens (Greece) has filed indictments in the Court of First Instance of Athens against a total of 100 suspects of fraud involving agricultural funds, for an overall damage of €2.9 million to the EU budget.   

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Ostrava (Czechia) is leading an investigation into a suspected €14 million (CZK 335 million) VAT fraud scheme involving the trade of second-hand mobile phones. Searches were conducted in Czechia and Latvia, leading to five arrests. 

The latest Annual Report of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) shows a continuous rise in the EPPO’s activity. In the coming years, it will continue to increase, as detection and reporting of EU fraud will continue to improve, and its Polish and Swedish offices become operational. This year’s numbers demonstrate that the EPPO has become central to any serious reflection on the future of the so-called EU anti-fraud architecture. 

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Sofia (Bulgaria) has filed an indictment against two individuals suspected of defrauding the European Social Fund (ESF) and national co-financing, for a total amount of €66 750.