Three Latvian citizens have been convicted before Riga’s Vidzeme District Court for fraud committed in a procurement process for the construction of two high tunnel greenhouses, subsidised by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). It is the first conviction in Latvia since the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) started its operations.

Last week, an investigation of the Vilnius office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) led to arrests of 15 suspects and more than 50 searches in Lithuania, carried out by the Special Investigation Service STT (Specialiųjų tyrimų tarnyba). The suspects were allegedly involved in an illicit enrichment worth at least €250 000 and linked to a public procurement procedure funded by the European Union (EU).

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Lithuania is leading a pre-trial investigation into the possible lack of transparency in an EU-funded public procurement for street lighting in the municipality of Šiauliai. The investigation is carried out by the Special Investigation Service (STT).

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Italy and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of facilitating their cooperation related to suspicious financial transactions.

On 23 May, we commemorated thirty years since the assassination of Giovanni Falcone in Palermo. A lot has already been said and written about this brave man and outstanding prosecutor. He came to symbolise the many other magistrates, police officers, civil servants, journalists and activists who did not give in to fear, and who lost their lives in the fight against organised crime.

The first year of operations of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) shows that it is working well: 4006 crime reports registered and analysed, 929 investigations opened and €259 million (more than four times the EPPO’s annual budget) of freezing orders granted. Nevertheless, challenges remain, the most important one being the low level of detection of EU fraud.

The College of the European Public Prosecutor's Office appointed today two new European Delegated Prosecutors in Greece. In total, there are now 7 European Delegated Prosecutors in the EPPO Athens office.

Fifteen locations in Bucharest, Gorj, Giurgiu and the Danube Delta area (Romania), regions in Romania, were searched on 24 May 2022, at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The searches were conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud concerning European funds of more than €3 million.

In November 2021, six people were arrested in Czechia, Romania and Slovakia on suspicion of forming a criminal organisation. One of these suspects was convicted in April 2022, and this week two more suspects were convicted by the Munich I Regional Court (Landgericht München I).