Kovesi ends EPPO term as 3,602 fraud probes carry 67.27 billion euro in suspicions

A term ending in Luxembourg

On Friday, 30 October, Laura Codruța Kovesi completes her seven-year term at the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), a post she has held since October 2019. The Luxembourg-based office began operational work on 1 June 2021 and investigates fraud against the EU budget, including misuse of European funds, corruption and serious cross-border VAT fraud. German prosecutor Andrés Ritter takes over from 1 November, also for a seven-year mandate. Kovesi, the former head of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), leaves an office that has expanded considerably since its first year.

Caseload and suspected damages

The EPPO's annual report puts the number of active investigations at 3,602 at the end of 2025. The European Commission cites 515 active investigations in 2021. The suspected damages in those open cases total 67.27 billion euro, a figure that reflects suspicions rather than money recovered or fraud proven in court. About 45 billion euro of that sum relates to VAT and customs duty fraud.

In 2025 alone, European prosecutors opened 2,030 new investigations, about 35% more than in the previous year, and sent 1,438 people to trial. Cases that reached a verdict ended in convictions close to 95% of the time. Courts approved asset freezes worth 1.13 billion euro that year, but the assets actually placed under seizure came to about 289 million euro.

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End of 20253,602

2021

515

End of 2025

3602

Data from the article text

Romania is one of the countries where the office runs a substantial number of investigations. At the end of 2025, prosecutors had 535 cases open there, with suspected damages of 6.05 billion euro.

Commission verdict and warnings

In an evaluation published on 18 September, the European Commission judged that the office works very efficiently and has grown substantially since it started. It also flagged difficulties with human and financial resources and with cooperation with national authorities. In an interview with POLITICO before leaving, Kovesi warned that the office's results do not guarantee its future and that it risks gradual weakening without the resources and legal tools it needs. She said the EPPO needs 230 European delegated prosecutors, while current funding covers only 180 posts. Kovesi said the key challenge for her successor will be keeping the office independent and credible. She accused some officials of backing judicial independence only while investigations stay away from their own interests, and pointed to Greece as the site of an attempt to intimidate the office, linked to a dispute over the mandates of some delegated prosecutors. Asked about the Pfizergate investigation into COVID-19 vaccine purchases, she declined to comment.

What comes next

Ritter's seven-year mandate starts on 1 November. Asked about her own plans, Kovesi said she preferred to focus on the EPPO and would decide on her future after her term ends. She described leading the office as the most difficult job of her career, but said she would not do things differently if she had to start again. The Commission's findings on resources and cooperation are the open questions her successor inherits.