A new European anti-fraud prosecutor officially started operations on Tuesday after years of delay. 
Speaking to Times of Malta, European prosecutor Yvonn
Europe s first chief prosecutor Laura Kovesi gets to work
The European Public Prosecutor s Office started work on Tuesday. The Luxembourg-based EPPO is tasked with cracking down on fraudulent use of European Union funds.
The first chief of the EPPO, Laura Kovesi, called the launch a historic moment. Our target [is] economic and financial criminality. Make no mistake, this is the most common threat to any democratic society, Kovesi said.
Officials cited by AFP news agency estimate that about €500 million ($611 million) of EU funds are drained fraudulently each year.
Kovesi s team was initially meant to start working last year, but there were delays from 22 participating EU member states in selecting prosecutors.
Set to "protect the EU budget" and investigate financial fraud, the EPPO is the latest addition to the bloc's bodies designed to bolster law and order across the European Union.