Justice - EU public prosecutor's office expects significant increase in proceedings
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) expects a significant increase in investigations in 2023. He assumes that their number will almost double, said Deputy European Chief Prosecutor Andrés Ritter in Berlin on Thursday. One reason for this is the increasing awareness of the authority, which has been active across borders in 22 EU countries since July 2021. According to Ritter, the number of criminal complaints that the EPPO receives from national authorities has risen by 50 to 60 percent. In 2022, the European authority reported 3318 criminal complaints and 1117 investigations.
As an independent and decentralized authority, the EPPO is authorized to prosecute crimes against the EU budget and bring them to justice. The focus here is on crime that is used to wrongfully obtain subsidies or contracts from the EU as well as customs offenses and VAT fraud schemes. The EU loses an estimated 500 million euros a year through corruption and subsidy fraud.
The aim is to "protect the EU's money", explained Ritter, who is the European Public Prosecutor for Germany. He is organizationally responsible for the so-called Delegated European Public Prosecutors in Germany. They investigate directly from Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich. There are currently 11 lawyers working in the so-called centers, and this number is set to increase to 21. The headquarters of the EPPO is in Luxembourg.
The special thing about the new authority is that it can operate across borders. There is no need for cumbersome and time-consuming requests for legal assistance in the respective countries. Instead, the European employees are on site and coordinate measures such as searches, in which national authorities such as the police or customs investigators are then deployed.
According to Attorney General Ritter, the authority has so far brought 87 charges, 20 of which have led to final convictions (as of 31.12.2022). Investigators estimate that losses of 14.1 billion euros have been incurred. Since the end of September, a trial has been underway in Berlin against a suspected gang that set up a network of front companies and allegedly evaded around 80 million euros in sales tax by trading in luxury cars and medical masks.
European Public Prosecutor's Office
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- The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has been active in 22 EU countries since July 2021, including Luxembourg, where its headquarters are located.
- The Deputy European Chief Prosecutor, Andrés Ritter, mentioned during a speech in Berlin that the EPPO receives a significant increase in criminal complaints, which has led to a 50 to 60 percent rise.
- The German Public Prosecutor, Ritter, and his team of Delegated European Public Prosecutors in Germany, based in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Munich, are investigating crimes against the EU budget, including customs offenses and VAT fraud schemes.
- A trial is currently underway in Berlin at the Public Prosecutor's office against a suspected gang that allegedly evaded around 80 million euros in sales tax by trading in luxury cars and medical masks, a case that the EU Public Prosecutor's Office is handling as part of their investigation procedure.
Source: www.stern.de
