Romania has the highest VAT shortfall in the EU at 30.6%, five times the bloc’s average, and over 90% of it is due to fraud, according to European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi.
In 2024, of nearly 400 EPPO cases in Romania, just 12 involved VAT fraud, and only three or four were reported by the national tax authority ANAF.
“There are only two explanations: either they don’t want to find out, or it’s bad faith,” Kovesi told Libertatea.
She warned that international mafias—including Italian and Chinese groups—exploit enforcement gaps in Romania and across Europe.
