- EPPO and Customs Investigation Offices target a criminal organization for VAT fraud and excise duty evasion.
- Two suspects arrested and assets seized, including safes, cryptocurrency, and firearms.
- Organization operates in Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia.
- Fraud involves designer fuels chemically modified to avoid taxation.
- Fuels enter Germany via Poland, falsely declared as lubricating oil, then relabelled as diesel.
- Scheme uses missing traders and false invoices to claim VAT refunds.
- Organization suspected of laundering profits through precious metals and foreign accounts.
- Estimated loss of 66 million euros in VAT and 137 million euros in excise duties since 2023.
- All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in German courts.
- EPPO is responsible for prosecuting crimes against EU financial interests.
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.
