The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is facing a sharp rise in suspected fraud linked to the EU’s pandemic recovery fund, with estimated losses tied to the program approaching €5 billion, Follow the Money reported, citing figures in the office’s annual report released Monday.

Prosecutors opened almost 300 new investigations last year into suspected fraud involving the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), more than double the number of probes launched in 2024, FTM said. By the end of 2025, EPPO had 512 active RRF-related cases, involving nearly 2,000 suspects and an estimated €5 billion in damages.

RRF matters accounted for a growing share of EPPO’s workload, rising from 17 percent to 21 percent of all “active expenditure fraud investigations” across EU programs last year, the report said. An EPPO spokeswoman told Follow the Money that as the fund nears its end later this year and spending accelerates, there are “more fraudulent attempts.”

Italy represented almost two-thirds of active RRF cases, with 331 investigations, the news agency said. 

While Italy is the largest beneficiary of the facility, receiving €153 billion out of the €394 billion disbursed so far, an EPPO spokeswoman said that is not the primary reason for the concentration of cases. She credited Italy’s financial police, saying the Guardia di Finanza is doing “an outstanding job” detecting EU fraud, according to the report. 

The spokeswoman also cautioned that fewer reported cases elsewhere should not be read as absence of fraud. 

“Estimating the level of any fraud is extremely difficult as fraud is, by definition, supposed to be hidden,” she told FTM, adding that EPPO’s work highlights the need for significantly improved detection across member states. 

The RRF is due to wind down this year. Member states must meet agreed milestones by August 31st, and the Commission is not allowed to make payments after December 2026, according to the report. 

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