News

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) has initiated an investigation against two Croatian citizens for subsidy fraud and document forgery. Both individuals were arrested yesterday, 29 February 2024, at the EPPO’s request, following investigation activities conducted by the Istria County Police Administration and the Croatian Tax Administration’s Independent Sector for Financial Investigations. 

Yesterday, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Munich and Cologne (Germany) moved against a suspected criminal organisation, believed to have orchestrated a massive €195 million VAT fraud through the sale of smartphones, small electronic devices and protective face masks. During yesterday’s transnational action led by EPPO under the investigation cluster Midas, more than 180 searches were carried out and 14 people were arrested in 17 countries (Albania, Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK). Over 680 tax and police investigators supported the investigative measures. 

Today, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) is conducting urgent evidence-collecting activities, in cooperation with the Istarska County Police Administration against two persons.

Yesterday, a working arrangement was signed between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and Czechia’s Supreme Audit Office (SAO).

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan (Italy), five individuals were arrested on 23 February, on suspicion of orchestrating a €220 million VAT fraud involving alcohol exports to several Member States.A freezing order was also executed at the EPPO’s request by the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Milan, targeting bank accounts, real estate and luxury cars.

(Luxembourg, 27 February 2024) – In the context of a large-scale investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), several searches, arrests and seizures took place between Saturday and Monday, in a probe into an alleged criminal association suspected of aggravated VAT fraud involving beverages and EU funding fraud.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), over €760 000 in assets have been seized, in an investigation into fraud involving EU agricultural funding aimed at building and modernising olive oil mills.

This week, the College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) requested an increase to the EPPO’s budget for 2024 from the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission. This is an urgent request, motivated by the impending accession of new Member States (Poland and possibly Sweden) to the EPPO, as well as the acceleration of the disbursement of NextGenerationEU funding.

Over 80 searches were conducted yesterday and three suspects were arrested, in a probe into an alleged criminal organisation suspected of a multimillion VAT fraud involving car sales, led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne and Munich (Germany).