VAT fraud worth 100 million euros: 13 arrests in Italy in a major European Prosecutor’s Office operation

Brussels – Searches in Piedmont, Campania, Lombardy, Tuscany, and Lazio, with up to 100 million euros in assets seized and 13 people arrested, six of whom are in pre-trial detention in prison and seven in house arrest: this is the balance of the extensive operation conducted in Italy for VAT fraud initiated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and conducted in cooperation with the Guardia di Finanza in Turin. The raid came at the end of investigations targeting an organized crime group suspected of large-scale tax fraud in the trade of plastic products, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

“A complex criminal network” with international links based in the Campania was uncovered, and to dismantle it, law enforcement authorities in Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, and Slovakia were mobilized. The scheme involved a network of shell companies that acted as intermediaries in the sale of industrial plastic products. These companies often lacked any actual business activity. By inserting multiple fictitious entities into the supply chain, the suspects obscured the real flow of goods and finances, making it difficult to trace the ultimate beneficiaries.

Investigators proved that between 2018 and 2023, the suspects fraudulently issued and used invoices for non-existent transactions totaling 500 million euros, resulting in VAT evasion of about 100 million euros.

A total of 52 individuals are under investigation for alleged crimes, including participation in a criminal organization, VAT fraud, issuing and using false invoices, failure to file tax declarations, tax evasion, and unlawful tax compensation. As a result of the extensive operation, financial assets and other property belonging to 15 individuals and 13 companies were seized.