Fraudes of 23 billion euros: Kövesi sounds the alarm for the EU

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has opened more than 2,000 investigations, with an estimated damage value of 23 billion euros, but the large volume of files and the complexity of the cases far exceed the institution's capabilities, said chief prosecutor Laura Codruţa Kovesi, during a joint meeting of two specialized commissions in the European Parliament, the Hungarian news website hvg.hu reports.

During the meeting, Kövesi highlighted the huge challenges faced by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), stressing that the current situation is worrying, especially in the context in which not all EU member states are part of the EPPO - Hungary being one of the notable examples of absence.

"I thought we had seen everything," said Laura Codruţa Kövesi, according to the cited source, referring to the seriousness and size of criminal groups operating across borders within the EU.

The EPPO's mission is to protect European Union funds, but as Kövesi pointed out, every fraud case investigated also has an internal security component, which adds an additional and difficult dimension to the work of European prosecutors. A relevant example is the arrest of the son of a Sicilian mafia leader for VAT fraud, a crime considered low risk but with substantial profits. Such cases highlight the close links between economic crime and organized crime groups.

EPPO is currently conducting more than 2,000 investigations, with an estimated damage value of euro23 billion. Among the large-scale operations is also "Operation Amiral", during which VAT frauds in the amount of 2.2 billion euros were discovered. In addition to this type of fraud, the EPPO also deals with other major crimes, such as the illegal production and trade of tobacco, financial fraud, etc.

However, the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office admitted that the institution she leads faces significant limitations. The data collected during investigations is huge: 636 terabytes was generated in one operation alone, and the ability of Member States to process this information is essential to complete investigations. EPPO currently manages around 2,000 terabytes of data, which reflects both the scale of its activities and the need for additional resources.

Although not all Member States are part of the EPPO, there is growing pressure to extend this cooperation to the whole of the European Union. A Social Democrat representative in the European Parliament suggested that joining the EPPO should be mandatory for all member states, given the high number of cases of fraud and corruption in certain countries, including Hungary. Although Kövesi did not take a firm position on the issue, he emphasized that EPPO membership should be a necessary condition for new states wishing to join the European Union.

Currently, Sweden and Poland have expressed their intention to join the EPPO this year, which will reduce the number of states that are not part of this cooperation to just three: Ireland, Denmark and Hungary. In the case of Ireland and Denmark, they benefit from special exceptions negotiated at the time of accession to the EU, being countries less exposed to the risks related to EU funds due to their status as developed economies. Instead, Hungary deliberately chose not to participate, citing the fact that it is not an obligation.

In the case of Poland, which decided to join the EPPO after Donald Tusk's government took office, the first actual operations will begin within two months. It is expected that there will be between 200 and 300 cases to investigate from the first day, many of which are related to cross-border VAT fraud.

According to the cited source, Laura Codruţa Kövesi confirmed within the committees of the European Parliament that investigations involving Hungary are ongoing. Even if this country is not part of the EPPO, there is the possibility to extend investigations in Member States when crimes have a transnational component. An example is a case where the amount of fraud is 166,000 euros, with the involvement of both Hungarian and Belgian authorities. Kövesi emphasized that the Hungarian authorities are cooperating properly in these investigations, despite Hungary's absence from the EPPO.