A year of existence and already a steady rate of investigation and prosecution. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, set up to protect the financial interests of the European Union, a major provider of subsidies and programs supporting innovation, today displays no fewer than 928 files opened on the basis of 4,600 reports by the European Investigative Service. Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf), but also the tax services and Courts of Auditors of the twenty-two European member states of the new Prosecutor’s Office.
Twenty-eight cases have already been referred to national courts and four sentences have been handed down, including prison terms in Croatia and Bulgaria. To date, investigative decisions are concentrated mainly in Eastern countries and Italy.
General practice
While Olaf’s 2021 activity report states a business volume of between 300 and 500 million euros, the open files overall, for VAT fraud alone, sum…
Source: Le Figaro
