Annual Report: EPPO investigates 3 602 active cases at the end of 2025
(Luxembourg, 2 March 2026) – At the end of 2025, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) was investigating 3 602 cases (an increase of 35% since 2024), with an overall estimated damage of €67.27 billion to the EU and national budgets, almost tripling the number from the previous year (€24.8 billion). Over two thirds of the estimated damage (€45.01 billion) is linked to fraud affecting the EU’s sources of revenue, namely VAT and customs fraud, bringing to light a criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for too long.
In 2025, the EPPO opened 2 030 new cases, which is 35% more than in 2024. While expenditure fraud cases (related to EU funds, subsidies or aid) represent 68% of active investigations (2 450), they account for 27% of the overall estimated damage (€18.67 billion). A total of 512 active cases stemmed from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the key instrument of the NextGenerationEU, which demonstrates a sharp increase compared to 2024 (66,7%). Due to the high volume of disbursements expected by December 2026, risk remains high for fraud and corruption.
Judicial activity in 2025
The conviction rate in EPPO cases is close to 95%, and with 275 indictments filed last year (34% more than in 2024), the EPPO brings increasingly more perpetrators of EU fraud to judgment in front of national courts. Judges also granted freezing orders of €1.13 billion in EPPO investigations, while the value of assets actually frozen during the year amounted to €288.93 million.
In 2025, the EPPO received and processed 6 966 crime reports and complaints, an increase of 6%, mainly driven by reports from private parties (4 629), as well as from national authorities (2 107). The number of reports received from EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (IBOA) remains low (143). This shows that the level of detection of fraud affecting the financial interests of the EU is improving and that the public awareness of the EPPO, and trust in its work, continue to grow.
Laura Kövesi, European Chief Prosecutor, states: ‘At the end of my mandate, I am convinced that our citizens can be proud of these achievements. We did our best to show that in the European Union, justice serves its citizens, that it is tangible, and that the law must be equal for everyone. Let the EPPO team’s unyielding commitment to independence be my legacy.’
A new perspective on organised crime
EPPO’s investigations demonstrate that criminal enterprises operating in the field of VAT and customs fraud achieve very high profits while facing relatively low risks. This explains why conventional criminal activities focusing on illegal goods (counterfeited goods, drugs, weapons, etc.), or on criminal exploitation of vulnerable people (exploitation of labour, prostitution, human trafficking) are increasingly combined with, or even replaced by, criminal activities related to the trading of legal goods, carried out using criminal modalities that cause massive damage to the financial interests of both the EU and its Member States. These activities remain difficult to detect from a purely national perspective.
The EPPO has recently observed an alarmingly high level of fraud orchestrated by large-scale organised crime groups, related to the import and sale of goods originating outside the EU, with a heavy influence of Chinese criminal networks.
Laura Kövesi, European Chief Prosecutor, adds: ‘With 981 ongoing VAT and customs fraud cases worth €45 billion of estimated damage, both to the EU and national budgets, we are making a dent into a criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for far too long. This is imperative for our security in the European Union, as well as for our public finances.’
2025 in numbers
Some of the key figures, valid on 31 December 2025:
- 3 602 active investigations with estimated damage of €67.27 billion;
- 6 966 crime reports processed;
- 2 030 investigations were opened (+35%), with an estimated damage of €48.7 billion;
- 275 indictments filed (+34%), with 1 438 persons indicted;
- €1.13 billion in freezing orders granted and assets worth €288.93 million frozen;
- 27% of active investigations (981) were linked to revenue fraud cases (VAT + Customs), but account for 67% of the overall estimated damage (€45.01 billion);
- 68% of active investigations (2 450) are expenditure fraud cases (subsidy fraud), with an estimated damage of €18.67 billion (over 27% of the overall estimated damage);
- Estimated damage notified to the European Commission and IBOAs in expenditure fraud cases, in view of recovery for the EU budget: €171.3 million;
- Estimated damage notified to the European Commission and other IBOAs in revenue fraud cases: €1.19 billion;
Visit our dedicated web page ‘2025 in numbers’ where you find the full Annual Report 2025 as well.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.