VAT and customs tariff fraud in the European Union (EU) is at the center of an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office that estimates losses of 45.01 billion euros, revealing an organized and transnational pattern of action. The 2025 Annual Activity Report identifies the dominance of criminal networks, in particular linked to China, which control several stages of the fraud chain.
According to the Lusa news agency, these 45.01 billion euros represent only 27% of the investigations underway at the body, in a total of 981 cases out of 3,602, but they concentrate 67% of the 67.27 billion euros in estimated losses to the budgets of the EU and Member States.
Criminal industry installed
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office considers that this type of crime directly affects community and national sources of revenue. According to the same source, the report describes the phenomenon as “a criminal industry that has been ignored or tolerated for too long”.
The EPPO, the institution’s English acronym, observes “an alarmingly high level of fraud orchestrated by large-scale criminal groups”, related to the import and sale of goods from outside the EU, writes the agency.
With regard to the entry of goods of Chinese origin, the document is explicit. “With regard to the entry of goods into the EU originating in China, in particular, criminal networks made up of individuals of Chinese origin have taken control of the entire fraud chain,” says the report, cited by the same source. These structures exploit the supply chain from source, use clandestine banking systems to route financial flows, and maintain complex operational structures within the EU to manage all phases of activity.
The presence of these networks is described as significant in the main European ports and commercial terminals. According to the same source, they seek to control the customs entry process, taking advantage of weaknesses in the control of external borders. The report recalls that customs control at ports and airports had already been the subject of a previous alert, a concern also expressed by Portuguese European prosecutor José Ranito.
Operation Calypso and record seizures
Among the actions developed in 2025, operation Calypso stands out, conducted in several countries. At the port of Piraeus, 2,435 containers were seized, in what is described as the largest operation of its kind in the EU.
The EPPO highlights that this type of crime is “difficult to detect from a purely national perspective” and that, in some sectors, criminal groups “have already overcome mere infiltration”, dominating activity and “suffocating legitimate economic operators with unfair competition”, writes the agency.
Links to other illicit activities
The report also points out that this crime, considered highly profitable and of low risk, is associated with more serious practices, such as drug trafficking or human trafficking, says the same source.
In 2025, EPPO opened 2,030 new investigations, 35% more than in the previous year. Cases related to fraud in subsidies and payments represent 68% of ongoing investigations, but only 27% of the total losses determined.
PRR, convictions and asset freezing
Recovery and Resilience programs are at the origin of 512 cases under investigation, which “demonstrates a sharp increase compared to 2024 (66.7%)”, according to the report. “Due to the high number of disbursements expected in December 2026, the risk remains high for fraud and corruption”, warns the document.
The conviction rate at trial reaches 95% and 275 indictments were produced in 2025, 34 percent more than in 2024. Asset freezes worth 1.13 billion euros were also authorized, of which 288.93 million were actually carried out, says the . The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which currently includes 24 Member States and came into force on June 1, 2021, acts as an independent Public Prosecutor’s Office with competence to investigate crimes harmful to the Union’s financial interests, including fraud and corruption.
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