The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) has initiated an investigation against two Croatian citizens on suspicion of fraud involving agricultural subsidies. Both suspects were arrested yesterday at the EPPO's request, in the wake of investigative activities carried out in cooperation with the Primorsko-Goranska County Police Administration. 

Today, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Paris (France), the Paris Criminal Court convicted a French company of customs fraud related to the import of sanitary products and sentenced the company to pay a €150 000 fine.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Milan arrested four suspects and seized assets worth up to €97 million yesterday, in an investigation into a VAT fraud involving the sale of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

Full speech of the European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, at the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in Brussels, Belgium - 30 September 2024

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Nucleo di Polizia Economico Finanziaria - Guardia di Finanza) in Ferrara executed a freezing order of nearly €2.4 million from two companies involved in the import of stainless steel coils. The companies and their administrators are being investigated for evading customs duties and ideological forgery.

Today, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), is conducting searches at the premises of the Maramureș County and 14 private residences of some of its officials. The searches are happening in the wake of an ongoing investigation into possible procurement fraud, forgery of documents and abuse of office linked to renovation works of a public administration building.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Giulianova (Teramo) have executed a freezing order amounting to €114 000 against one company, active in the non-specialised wholesale trade of food and tobacco. It is suspected of fraud involving funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Madrid (Spain) is seeking a sentence of more than eight years of imprisonment and fines of over €25 million in an indictment filed last week (17 September) against two companies and their five directors. They are suspected of evading the payment of anti-dumping duties on five import operations of steel sheets from China, in 2017 and 2018.

Eleven persons remain in pre-trial detention as of today, following dozens of searches conducted on 5 September as part of an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens (Greece). The investigation targets a criminal organisation suspected of being involved in a €30 million VAT fraud and money-laundering scheme.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) carried out searches yesterday in several locations, including social enterprises and private homes, in the region of Stuttgart. At issue are several projects intended to support the unemployed, co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).