European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)

What is the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)?

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is an independent public prosecution office of the European Union responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the EU. Its legal basis is primarily Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO. In that framework, the EPPO is designed to address cross-border and complex fraud involving EU funds, serious cross-border VAT fraud above statutory thresholds, corruption, money laundering linked to damage to the EU budget, and related offences.

In practical terms, the EPPO is not a court and it is not a general EU-wide prosecutor for every type of crime. Its mandate is limited to offences that harm the financial interests of the European Union, as defined mainly by the PIF Directive, Directive (EU) 2017/1371, and by national laws implementing that directive. The office operates through a central level and a decentralised level. At the central level, the European Chief Prosecutor, Permanent Chambers, and European Prosecutors supervise cases. At the national level, European Delegated Prosecutors conduct investigations and prosecutions in participating Member States, using national procedural law unless EU law provides otherwise.

This structure is important because EPPO cases often combine EU financial issues with national criminal procedure. As a result, individuals and companies may face investigative steps taken locally by national authorities acting within the EPPO system, while strategic decisions are supervised at EU level. That combination can create procedural complexity, especially in matters involving evidence gathering, freezing of assets, searches, seizure of documents, questioning of suspects, and parallel tax or administrative proceedings.

What does the EPPO deal with in practice?

The EPPO handles criminal matters connected with the misuse of EU financial resources. This may include subsidy fraud, procurement fraud involving EU-funded projects, corruption affecting EU spending, customs fraud with an EU budget impact, and money laundering tied to predicate offences harming EU finances. The EPPO is also competent in serious cross-border VAT fraud when the total damage is at least EUR 10 million, as provided in the PIF Directive and reflected in the EPPO framework.

Its work may concern businesses receiving grants, contractors participating in public tenders financed from EU funds, intermediaries involved in cross-border tax structures, and individuals suspected of using false documentation or misleading statements to obtain EU support. In many cases, the issue is not limited to an obvious allegation of fraud. The legal risk may also arise from deficient compliance systems, inaccurate reporting, conflicts of interest, improper settlement of project costs, or transaction chains later assessed as artificial or deceptive.

From a procedural perspective, the EPPO may initiate investigations, order or request investigative measures available under national law, question suspects and witnesses, secure digital and accounting evidence, seek pre-trial detention where justified, and bring an indictment before a competent national court. Although the prosecution is European in institutional design, the trial itself usually takes place before a national court in a participating Member State.

When is it worth seeking legal assistance in an EPPO-related matter?

Legal assistance should be considered as early as possible if there is any indication that a matter may fall within the EPPO’s competence. This applies in particular where a person or company learns about an audit concerning EU funds, receives a request for documents, is informed about suspect status, faces a search or seizure, or becomes aware that a tax, customs, corruption, procurement, or grant-related issue may have a cross-border dimension. Early legal review is also important when internal compliance findings suggest irregularities that could be interpreted as fraud affecting the EU budget.

Private individuals may need support when they are questioned as suspects or witnesses, when their assets are secured, or when they are connected to a project financed in whole or in part from EU resources. Businesses may require immediate advice when investigators request accounting records, correspondence, tender documents, or IT data, and where management must decide how to respond consistently with procedural duties and defence strategy. In multinational structures, the need for coordinated defence is even greater because evidence, decision-making, and financial flows may be spread across several jurisdictions.

A prompt consultation with a lawyer can help identify the actual scope of EPPO competence, protect procedural rights, reduce the risk of inconsistent statements, and limit exposure to criminal, financial, and reputational consequences. It may also help distinguish between administrative irregularities, tax disputes, and conduct that may be classified as a criminal offence. That distinction is often decisive for both defence planning and communication with authorities.

There are also legal discussions in practice concerning the boundaries between EPPO competence and the powers of national prosecutors or other EU bodies, including OLAF. Where competence overlaps or the factual situation is multi-layered, the correct procedural approach should be assessed carefully in light of both EU rules and national criminal procedure.

Support from a law firm in matters related to the EPPO may include in particular:

assessment of whether the case may fall within EPPO competence,
defence of suspects and representation of witnesses in criminal proceedings,
legal assistance during searches, seizures, questioning, and evidence collection,
review of risks connected with EU-funded projects, tenders, VAT structures, and settlements,
advice on internal investigations and preservation of evidence,
coordination of defence strategy in cross-border matters,
analysis of parallel criminal, tax, administrative, and regulatory exposure,
representation before national authorities and courts in proceedings linked to EPPO cases.

Need legal assistance in an EPPO-related matter? Contact us.

European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)