EPPO Annual Report 2024: more fraud investigations and billions in assets seized
24 March 2025
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) published its Annual Report 2024 earlier this month. It offers an interesting and detailed insight into the figures: compared with 2023, there were more fraud investigations and crime reports. €2.42 billion in assets were seized and €849 million in assets were frozen.
The EPPO, established in 2017 and operational since 2021, is responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal offences detrimental to the EU budget. There are currently 24 EU Member States participating in the EPPO. Every participating Member State provides delegated prosecutors who work independently of the national authorities. Criminal proceedings can be brought before the national courts by public prosecutors in the Member State in question; there is no centralised European court. Matters falling within the EPPO's jurisdiction can be reported directly, for instance using an online 'Report a Crime' form available on the EPPO website.
In December 2024, there were 2,666 active investigations, an increase of 10% on the previous year. These investigations represent an estimated €24.8 billion loss to the EU purse, most of which (53%) is thought to result from VAT fraud. The EPPO investigations also focus on EU subsidy fraud in sectors including agriculture, fisheries, Erasmus+ programmes (education and sport) and healthcare, as well as addressing procurement fraud, corruption and money laundering. Notably, the Annual Report reveals a sharp rise in the number of crime reports: these totalled 6,547, up 56% from 2023. The crime reports largely originated from private parties. The figures per Member State are also interesting in terms of the number of active investigations, the types of potential crime involved and the estimated damage resulting.
The EPPO is clearly gaining importance. But the EPPO also maintains a critical approach: how can it be, for example, that criminal organisations were still able to commit large-scale VAT fraud despite the anti-fraud strategies and auditing? It therefore advocates measures such as improving the detection and reporting of suspected fraud to the EPPO. Additionally, it advises engaging more specialists in all Member States to support EPPO investigations.
