Seven Arrested, 100 Raids Across Europe in €48 Million VAT Fraud Investigation Involving Electronics

• Over 100 searches and seven arrests were made across several countries in a probe into €48 million VAT fraud involving small electronic goods.
• The criminal scheme used shell companies in multiple EU countries and the UK to fraudulently apply a reduced VAT scheme to new electronic goods since 2018.
• Authorities seized documents, electronic devices, cash, jewellery, cars, watches, and gold worth €4 million during the raids.
• The investigation, coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Europol, involved law enforcement from at least 13 countries.
• The suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in German courts.

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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