VAT "CAROUSEL" FRAUD ON AN INTERNATIONAL SCALE (2/3)

VAT "carousel" fraud originates in Europe (2/3)

In April 2021, the Portuguese authorities began to have suspicions of money-laundering operations concerning a company selling electronic devices.

In June 2021, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is set up and, in line with their obligation, the Portuguese authorities report their ongoing investigation into VAT fraud and possibly money laundering on a European scale.

The investigation seems to be on a much larger scale than expected, as the connections established by the Portuguese investigation extend far beyond Portugal to China.

Thanks to the cooperation of various European police forces, EPPO was able to launch simultaneous investigations into over 200 individuals. This EPPO investigation will be renamed " Operation Admiral ".  

This operation reveals the largest VAT "carousel" fraud ever uncovered in the European Union.

This fraud was organized as follows:

The fraud is estimated at a loss of 2.2 billion euros for the national authorities involved.

This investigation, which lasted 18 months, proved the effectiveness and efficiency of EPPO in terms of judicial cooperation.

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