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last mo.

Two Arrests in Major EU Probe of Car-Trade VAT Fraud

Investigators say the operation exposed a network that used shell firms and abuse of differential VAT rules to cause roughly €300 million in alleged tax losses.

Im Zusammenhang mit einem Umsatzsteuerbetrug im Autohandel mit einem Gesamtschaden von rund 300 Millionen Euro ist den Ermittlern ein weiterer Schlag gelungen. Zwei Verdächtige wurden festgenommen, wie das Zollfahndungsamt in Essen mitteilte.
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Overview

  • The raids conducted Friday were part of Operation Alba, a follow-up to the 2023 Huracán investigation, and led to two arrests in Germany and the Netherlands as authorities widened the probe.
  • Officers searched sites in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, including locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg, Saxony and Bavaria, and collected extensive digital evidence.
  • Investigators seized weapons, luxury vehicles, watches, cash and jewellery, plus cars and real estate valued at more than €2.5 million, and say they have secured about €15 million in assets for potential recovery.
  • Authorities say the network relied on shell companies and the misuse of 'differenzbesteuerung' — a VAT margin scheme for used goods — and that identified margin-abuse transactions alone caused about €3.2 million in losses.
  • The case now names over 70 suspects, builds on nine earlier convictions with two-to-seven-year jail terms, and could lead to more arrests and prosecutions as prosecutors pursue asset recovery and disrupted resale chains to the Netherlands and Portugal.