VAT fraud with luxury cars: Five arrests, damages exceeding €100 million
Five people were arrested during the Europe-wide Operation J.A.V.E.L.I.N., including three in Austria. The estimated tax damage exceeds €100 million.
Large-scale raid against luxury car fraudsters: Five arrests in Austria and Germany
Heute.at reports: On 4 November, extensive investigative measures were carried out as part of the Europe-wide Operation J.A.V.E.L.I.N. against a cross-border fraud network in the international vehicle trade. Three people were arrested in Austria, with two further Austrian nationals arrested in Germany by German law enforcement.
Carousel fraud in the EU internal market
The so-called carousel fraud is a widespread form of VAT fraud: criminals exploit gaps in the tax system of the EU internal market and send high-value goods in a "carousel" between dealers from different EU countries. The companies involved claim VAT refunds which they have in many cases never paid. The EU estimates that tax losses resulting from this amount to at least €50 billion annually across the EU.
84 tax officials, 12 searches in Tyrol and Vorarlberg
The measures were carried out on the instructions of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The tax investigation department of the Office for Fraud Prevention (ABB) played a key role in the investigations in Austria. A total of 84 employees of the Austrian financial administration were deployed, supported by Austrian police forces as well as national and international partner authorities. More than 100 operational sites were processed across Europe. In the Austrian investigative strand, 12 house searches were conducted — in Tyrol and Vorarlberg.
At the centre of the suspicions was systematic VAT fraud in cross-border trade in high-value new vehicles. According to the current state of investigations, vehicles were to be traded through a network of companies and intermediary entities to conceal actual delivery routes. This apparently involved so-called missing trader companies, shell companies, and falsified transport and delivery documents.
Austrian damage: more than ten million euros
In the Austrian investigative strand, vehicle deliveries with a total volume of around €80 million were the focus. The associated revenue loss is estimated at more than €10 million. The estimated VAT damage of the entire European complex exceeds €100 million.
In the course of the raid, extensive evidence and assets were secured — alongside business documents and electronic data carriers, valuable assets and real estate were also seized. The complete recording and evaluation of the seized items is currently ongoing.
Finance Minister Marterbauer: "Zero tolerance for tax fraud"
Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer commented on the action: "International cooperation plays an increasingly important role in combating fraud, because fraud knows no borders. Zero tolerance for tax fraud — in the interests of honest taxpayers in Europe."
As recently as May of this year, the finance ministers of the EU had agreed to improve data exchange between the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office. In recent years, several cases of carousel fraud had already been uncovered — involving not only luxury cars but also smartphones and other high-value electrical devices, each with damages of several hundred million euros.
Further investigations and the evaluation of the seized evidence are being carried out in close coordination with the European Public Prosecutor's Office. The presumption of innocence applies to all those involved.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)