EU prosecutor reports sharp rise in fraud cases, estimates $78B in damages

BRUSSELS

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) was handling 3,602 active investigations at the end of 2025, a 35% increase from the previous year, with estimated damage of €67.27 billion ($73 billion) to EU and national budgets, according to its annual report released Monday.

The estimated financial damage has nearly tripled compared with 2024, when losses were put at €24.8 billion, underscoring the growing scale of fraud targeting the European Union’s financial interests.

The report said more than two-thirds of the total estimated damage — €45.01 billion — stems from value-added tax (VAT) and customs fraud, even though such cases account for just 27% of active investigations.

The EPPO warned that revenue fraud has developed into a highly profitable criminal industry, often involving large-scale organized crime networks.

In 2025 alone, the office opened 2,030 new investigations, also a 35% year-on-year increase, with estimated damage of €48.7 billion.

While expenditure fraud cases — including misuse of EU funds and subsidies — represented 68% of active investigations, they accounted for only 27% of the overall estimated damage.

The report highlighted a sharp rise in cases linked to the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the EU’s post-pandemic funding program, with 512 active investigations, up nearly 67% from 2024.

European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi said the figures reflect both the scale of criminal activity and the expanding workload of the EU’s first transnational prosecution body.

“By the end of 2025, we had 3,602 active cases, for a total estimated damage of over €67.27 billion. This is huge. Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to increase in the coming years,” she said.

“With 981 ongoing VAT and customs fraud cases worth €45.01 billion in estimated damage to European and national budgets, we are making a dent in a criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for far too long,” she added, warning that such fraud threatens not only public finances but also EU security.