EPPO Seizes Bank Accounts in Latin America in €25 Million VAT Fraud Investigation

• EPPO in Madrid seized bank accounts in the Dominican Republic and Peru related to a €25 million VAT fraud investigation.
• Information was also obtained from Uruguay.
• Six bank accounts were seized in the Dominican Republic and four in Peru.
• The investigation involved a criminal organization trading IT equipment with links to Latin America.
• In November 2023, 24 people were arrested in Spain with support from national authorities.
• The suspects allegedly used a network of companies across Spain, the EU, and Latin America to exploit VAT rules.
• The scheme involved missing traders and unlawful VAT refund claims.
• The investigation was supported by the EL PACCTO 2.0 program to combat transnational crime.
• In May 2025, EPPO signed arrangements with AIAMP and six Latin American countries.
• EPPO is an independent EU institution focused on financial crimes against the EU.

Source: eppo.europa.eu

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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