An inspector with the police’s economic crimes unit has been appointed Malta’s European Prosecutor within the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). 

Yvonne Farrugia was appointed after several public calls and following a selection process by the EU. She will be stationed in Luxemburg, where she will serve as a European Prosecutor representing Malta.

Apart from her career with the police force, Farrugia is also qualified as a lawyer.

Her appointment ends a long wait for Malta to appoint a representative to the EPPO, with the country having found it hard to nominate three candidates which matched eligibility criteria. 

The European Commission had subsequently introduced an exception to help Malta, allowing countries to nominate two candidates instead of the three stipulated in the EPPO’s rules when it is “objectively impossible for a Member State to find a third eligible candidate within a reasonable time”. 

According to EPPO rules, nominees must be active prosecutors or members of the judiciary and have relevant practical experience of financial investigations and international judicial cooperation, among other things. 

Set up in 2017 but yet to become operational, the EPPO will be responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes which go against the financial interest of the EU. It is also responsible for crimes related to fraud, misappropriation, corruption, and cross-border VAT fraud of over €10 million. 

Currently, only national authorities can investigate and prosecute fraud against the EU budget, and their powers stop at national borders. The EPPO is intended to overcome those limitations. 

Twenty-two member states have signed up to the office. 

Farrugia will join other European Prosecutors overseeing investigations and prosecutions of these crimes, under the leadership of European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi.

The EPPO should start operating towards the end of 2020.

In a statement announcing her appointment, the government wished Farrugia all the best in her new role.