News

A Spanish citizen was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for impersonating a service provider to the EU mission in Somalia, in order to fraudulently obtain funds, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Madrid (Spain).

The Court of Appeal of Lithuania has upheld the convictions of two former Lithuanian customs officers, as well as two Belarusian citizens, for the smuggling of large quantities of cigarettes from Belarus, confirming the lower court’s judgement and dismissing the defendants’ appeals. The customs officers’ conviction for abuse of office was also upheld.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Palermo and Padova seized a large-scale industrial plant for the manufacture of cigarettes, as well as 5.5 tonnes of cigarettes and 16 tonnes of tobacco, in the province of Padova.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Vilnius (Lithuania), officers from Lithuania’s Financial crime investigation service (Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba – FNTT), investigators from Germany’s Tax Investigation Office (Steuerfahndung) in Dresden  and Europol carried out over 40 searches in different cities in Lithuania. This is the second wave of investigative measures in a probe into a criminal organisation importing salvage cars from the United States (US) and reselling them after cosmetic repair, while evading custom duties and VAT.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Brussels (Belgium) is conducting an investigation into suspected customs fraud, corruption and the forgery of documents in the Port of Antwerp. Under the supervision of the investigating judge in Antwerp, seven searches were conducted, three individuals were arrested and several bank accounts as well as cash were seized on 20 January 2026.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Berlin (Germany) has brought charges against five defendants at the Regional Court of Magdeburg suspected of defrauding €20 million in unpaid VAT, and two of them for being members of a criminal organisation as well. This is the first indictment in the investigation code-named ‘Water into Wine’.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Lisbon (Portugal), multiple searches were conducted today in Lisbon, in a probe into suspected fraud involving EU subsidy fraud and money laundering.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan (Italy) has requested to the judge at the Court of Milan a precautionary measure prohibiting a large international consultancy company from contracting with the Region of Lombardy (Regione di Lombardia).

In an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Iași (Romania), twenty-five house searches were carried out this morning in Focșani City and Vrancea County, as part of a probe into suspected fraud related to an EU-funded project to support the business plans of disadvantaged young people.