The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and Europol managed to dismantle an international tax fraud network in 26 of the 27 EU countries, in which more than 600 people participated.
“Tax fraudsters made off with more than €2.2 billion in possibly the biggest VAT fraud ever detected in the EU,” according to the European Union.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office raided 14 countries, including Germany, France and Spain. According to the researchers, they uncovered a network of “criminal activities” operating in 26 of the 27 EU member states and in other countries. The network had also expanded to Albania, China, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and the USA.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office started the investigation a year and a half ago after contacting the Portuguese authorities. It was a company in the Portuguese city of Coimbra that sold mobile phones and other electronic devices and was suspected of VAT fraud.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Europol and national authorities tackled an extensive fraud scheme involving around 9,000 companies. This chain involved companies acting as electronics suppliers and others selling these devices online while claiming VAT refunds from national authorities before sending those proceeds overseas and disappearing.
According to Europol estimates, this so-called VAT carousel costs the European Union almost 50 billion euros per year. Many companies based in at least two EU member states are involved in this scam. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, to which 22 of the 27 EU Member States belong, is responsible for fraud cases affecting the Union’s budget.
