Five Charged in Germany for €20 Million VAT Fraud Linked to Diesel Sales

• Five individuals in Germany are charged with a €20 million VAT fraud related to diesel sales, as part of the “Water into Wine” investigation.
• The accused allegedly used chemically modified “designer fuels” and complex triangular transactions involving companies in Lithuania, Latvia, and Hungary to evade taxes.
• The scheme involved falsely declaring fuels as lubricating oil when entering Germany, then reclassifying them as diesel to avoid energy taxes, causing significant losses to the German budget.
• One suspect, an informal manager of two oil distribution companies, was arrested, and assets worth €3.1 million were seized in June 2024.
• The total estimated losses from these activities since 2023 are €45 million in unpaid VAT and over €90 million in excise taxes; if convicted, the accused face up to ten years in prison.

Source: taxheaven.gr

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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