10 unpleasant scenarios in EPPO cases (and what to do in the first 48 hours)
Lead
EPPO files hit hardest through speed, cross-border reach, and aggressive precautionary measures. Below are 10 frequent (and unpleasant) situations a defendant or company may face—plus the first practical move to limit damage fast.
1) Bank accounts frozen simultaneously in several EU states
What it looks like: coordinated freezing orders; rejected payments; cashflow collapse.
Risk: operational standstill, supplier penalties, reputational damage.
First move: request carve-outs for essential payments (payroll, taxes), offer security (cash/bank guarantee), and challenge proportionality in each state of execution.
2) ANABI proposes an early sale of movable assets
What it looks like: notice to sell vehicles/stock deemed “fast-depreciating.”
Risk: irreversible loss at a suboptimal price; disruption of operations.
First move: contest the valuation, prove safe conservation, and offer an equivalent guarantee to defer the sale.
3) Parallel searches and document seizures in 2–3 countries
What it looks like: simultaneous raids at HQ and partners abroad; forensic imaging of systems.
Risk: disproportionate data capture, “over-collection,” privilege leaks.
First move: verify authorisations in each execution state, limit the scope to the warrant, and insist on sealing/privilege filters for protected materials.
4) Extended seizure also hits good-faith third parties’ assets
What it looks like: garnishments on family accounts; liens on co-owned property.
Risk: collateral disputes with third parties, PR backlash, cascading liabilities.
First move: file title and lawful-origin evidence, invoke third-party rights, and demand targeted narrowing of the measure.
5) Accelerated requests for emails/cloud data with short response windows
What it looks like: urgent preservation/production orders to providers; tight deadlines.
Risk: misinterpreted logs; chain-of-custody challenges.
First move: enforce hashing and chain-of-custody protocols, request metadata/technical descriptions, and—where needed—seek independent forensic review.
6) “Blind” freezing blocks payroll and tax payments
What it looks like: payroll can’t run; tax liabilities accrue.
Risk: fiscal penalties, labour disputes, shutdown risk.
First move: seek a capped monthly carve-out for wages/taxes backed by cashflow proof and contract schedules.
7) Ne bis in idem raised too late: duplicate proceedings risk
What it looks like: parallel investigations/charges in two states on the same fact pattern.
Risk: wasted resources, conflicting outcomes.
First move: map identity of facts and finality timelines; raise the ne bis in idem objection early, with a chronology and certified decisions.
8) EPPO takes over a case already advanced nationally
What it looks like: competence shift; fresh precautionary measures; new evidence requests.
Risk: re-runs of acts, longer timelines, stricter PIF/VAT thresholds.
First move: test EPPO competence conditions; if unmet, seek referral back to the national prosecution and re-assessment of measures.
9) Seizure hits operationally critical assets without a continuity plan
What it looks like: production line down; delivery failures.
Risk: penalty clauses, termination of contracts, lost market share.
First move: propose a “surgical” freeze: exclude critical assets from the measure, substitute with guarantees, and install cashflow monitoring.
10) Confiscation order recognised in cascade before appeals conclude
What it looks like: multi-state execution with little room left for adaptation.
Risk: near-final effects, high multi-jurisdiction litigation costs.
First move: attack legality/proportionality early; where the order is travelling, rely on non-recognition/adaptation grounds and coordinate simultaneous challenges in execution states.
Ultra-short checklist (T0–T48h)
- Obtain every order/warrant plus basic technical data (hashes, scope, logs).
- Identify all execution states and the cross-border path of measures.
- File essential-payments carve-outs; propose security for partial lifting.
- Assert third-party rights promptly and narrow the object of measures.
- Block early sales through re-valuation and guarantees.