Watch: The Moment EU Financial Prosecutor Laid Into Malta’s EU Fraud Investigations
Laura Codruţa Kövesi, the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, laid into Malta’s efforts to tackle EU fraud and corruption, hitting out at how local authorities continue to pass the buck to other enforcement units.
“I have to be honest. If member states do not do their job, we are not allowed to do their job. Unfortunately, some member states support the EPPO only with words, and not with facts,” she told MEPs.
“I visited Malta and held meetings with local authorities. After two days, it was very difficult for me to identify the institution that is responsible for detecting crimes. All of them said that ‘it’s not me. It’s them’. And when I visited them, they said ‘it’s not us’. It’s them.”
You can watch the full clip over here:
@lovinmaltaofficial What do you make of Laura Codruta Kövesi blunt statements? 😳🧐 #fyp #fypmalta #malta #lovinmalta #eu #financialcrimesinvestigator #europeanunion #investigation #mep #fraud ♬ original sound – Lovin Malta
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office was set up in 2017 to investigate and prosecute cases of fraud involving EU funds of over €10,000 as well as large cases of cross-border VAT fraud. Kövesi became the first European Chief Prosecutor two years later.
Launched last June, it has so far seized some €147 million in assets, made arrests, and currently has 515 active investigations totalling an estimated €5.4 billion in damages.
All EU member states except for Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Sweden have signed up to the office, while Denmark has a special opt-out from the area of freedom, security and justice.
Malta is the only participating member that has yet to open a single investigation, with 576 cases opened in total across all participating member states.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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