Background
On March 2nd, 2026 the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) released its 2025 Annual Report, outlining a robust approach to cross-border enforcement against intricate economic and financial crimes, including customs fraud. The Report can be found here 2025 in numbers | European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
EPPO’s enforcement in numbers
- In 2025, EPPO filed 275 indictments with national courts.
- EPPO’s conviction rate for 2024 and 2025 is close to 95%.
- Judges granted EPPO freezing orders worth €1.13 billion, while the value of assets actually frozen in 2025 amounted to €288.93 million.
- By the end of 2025, EPPO had 3,602 active cases with a total estimated damage of over €67.27 million, ~27% of which are cases with a cross-border dimension.
- There are 981 ongoing VAT and customs fraud cases worth €45.01 billion of estimated damage (~67% of the overall estimated damage under investigation at the end of 2025).
- EPPO processed 6,966 crime reports in 2025, 6% more than 2024, driven by private parties (4,629) and national authorities (2,107), indicating broader detection and awareness.
Spotlight on customs fraud
- Around 12% of active cases investigated by EPPO by the end of 2025 concerned customs fraud and, in particular, those relating to undervaluation, misuse of customs procedures, smuggling and anti-dumping duties.
- These offences were mostly committed through the submission of false, incorrect, or incomplete customs documentations (typically by undervaluing the imported goods, misclassifying them to apply a lower duty rate or falsely declaring the producer or country of origin) or, in case of smuggling, without any customs documentation.
- Key products subject to EPPO’s enforcement in 2025 include: textiles, electronics, ceramic tiles, e‑bikes and bicycles, vehicles, aluminium products.
- In this context, e‑commerce channels are reportedly often exploited by fraudulent actors to evade customs duties and import VAT, particularly through the abuse of the Import One-Stop Shop scheme (IOSS) for low value consignments.
The groundbreaking “Calypso” investigation
- The “Calypso” investigation was carried out in 2025 and concerned a coordinated raid across 14 countries with more than one-hundred searches targeting fraudulent imports from China.
- The criminal scheme, which involved the importation of huge volume of textiles, shoes, e-scooters, e-bikes and other goods, is believed to have caused an estimated revenue loss of ~€800 million (approx. €350m customs duties plus €450m VAT).
- Authorities seized 2,435 containers in Piraeus (Greece) and arrested 10 suspects, including two customs officers.
Conclusion
- EPPO’s 2025 figures confirm an enforcement and investigation model built for scale, efficiency and cross‑border reach with revenue fraud (which subsumes both VAT and customs fraud) as a key enforcement focus.
- There has been a notable rise in enforcement appetite and approach on the ground, where customs authorities are increasingly looking to extend customs enforcement responsibilities and liabilities to a broader pool of supply chain actors.
- Companies with supply chains in the EU, particularly those involved in moving high volume and / or value of goods, should therefore assess the adequacy of existing customs controls and measures (including a KYC / due diligence process that accounts for customs risks, where appropriate)
