June 2, 2021

European supranational prosecutor’s office commences operations

As of 1 June 2021, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is open for business.  This new independent office, established pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting crimes affecting the European Union budget, is the first supranational public prosecution office.  The EPPO is independent from the European Commission, other EU bodies, and EU member states.  Under the leadership of the European Chief Prosecutor, it will focus on corruption and fraud — in particular:

  • Fraud relating to revenues and expenditures
  • High-value VAT fraud involving two or more member states
  • Money laundering affecting the EU budget
  • Corruption and misappropriation affecting EU financial interests
  • Organized crime, to the extent it targets the EU budget

The EPPO’s mandate also allows it to investigate and prosecute other illegal activity that is closely linked to an offense against the EU budget.

EPPO news release | EPPO website