The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating more than 500 cases of suspected fraud linked to the European Union’s €577 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the bloc’s flagship post-pandemic stimulus fund.
Estimated damages have hit €5 billion, according to the latest figures reported by investigative platform Follow the Money (FTM).
The EPPO’s 2025 annual report, released today, reveals a sharp rise in RRF-related probes.
Almost 300 new investigations were opened last year alone, pushing such cases to 21 per cent of the office’s overall caseload.
By year-end 2025, the EPPO had 512 active RRF cases involving almost 2,000 suspects.
Italy accounts for the largest share, attributed by the EPPO to the country’s proactive financial police (Guardia di Finanza) detecting and reporting irregularities.
The RRF fraud allegations typically involve providing false information, inflating costs, or misdirecting funds intended for “green” transition, digitalisation and economic recovery projects.
With around €180 billion in RRF funds still unspent as of early 2026, the EPPO warns that suspected fraud volumes are likely to increase further.
The office has secured some asset freezes and recoveries in related cases but full recovery remains challenging due to cross-border complexities and incomplete national reporting.
This development coincides with the EPPO’s broader findings on revenue fraud.
The same annual report highlights 981 ongoing investigations into customs and VAT fraud, with an estimated €45.01 billion in damages – accounting for more than 67 per cent of the EPPO’s total €67.27 billion in suspected losses under investigation.
This constitutes a near-tripling from €24.8 billion the previous year.
Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi described VAT and customs schemes as a “criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for far too long”. She noted that 68 per cent of the EPPO’s 3,602 active cases overall concern suspected expenditure fraud (including subsidies) but suspected revenue fraud dominates the damage figures.
The EPPO’s surge in activity underscores persistent vulnerabilities in large-scale EU spending programmes.
Earlier audits by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in February 2026 flagged ongoing weaknesses in fraud detection, incomplete data sharing and gaps in anti-fraud systems for the RRF, warning that the fund remains “ripe for fraudulent activity” despite reforms.
The ECA has criticised the milestone-based payment model (rather than cost reimbursement) and limited oversight of final recipients.
The EPPO continues to press for stronger recovery powers and better national co-operation to claw back misused funds.
In 2025, the office secured freezing orders worth €1.13 billion across cases, although actual asset seizures totalled €288.93 million.
Recoveries from fraud remain partial, with perceptions of widespread abuse risking public trust in EU institutions.
The European Court of Auditors, the EU’s finance watchdog, has issued a warning about what it said was the growing risk of so-called double funding under the bloc’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. https://t.co/wkKzjuRHLP
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 22, 2024
