EPPO freezes 10 bank accounts in Dominican Republic and Peru over €25m VAT fraud
The EU's public prosecutor seized bank accounts in the Dominican Republic and Peru tied to a €25 million VAT fraud involving IT equipment trade and a Spain-based criminal network.
EU prosecutors target Latin American accounts in €25 million Spanish VAT fraud case
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Madrid has seized ten bank accounts across the Dominican Republic and Peru, and obtained financial intelligence from Uruguay, as part of an investigation into a €25 million VAT fraud linked to the trade of IT equipment, eppo.europa.eu reported on 31 July 2025.
Six bank accounts were frozen in the Dominican Republic following Mutual Legal Assistance requests issued to three countries. Four additional accounts were frozen in Peru. Uruguayan national authorities separately provided information to EPPO investigators.
The investigation centres on an organised criminal network believed to have established a web of companies operating across Spain, other EU member states and multiple Latin American countries. According to EPPO, this structure channelled intra-community acquisitions through a central company acting as the main distributor.
The scheme exploited EU rules that exempt cross-border transactions from VAT. A chain of so-called missing traders — companies that collected VAT but disappeared before remitting it to tax authorities — was used to avoid tax liabilities. Other companies in the network then allegedly claimed unlawful VAT refunds from national tax agencies.
In November 2023, an earlier phase of the investigation led to the arrest of 24 people in Spain. Those arrests were carried out with the support of Spain's National Police (Policía Nacional), the Spanish Customs Office, and the Fraud Investigation Office of the Spanish Tax Agency (ONIF). Investigators had focused on Latin American connections from the outset, given suspected links to the scheme and potential laundering of the fraud's proceeds.
The latest cross-border seizures were made possible in part through EL PACCTO 2.0, the EU cooperation programme designed to strengthen ties between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean in the areas of justice and security, and to combat transnational organised crime.
In May 2025, the EPPO signed working arrangements with the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMP), along with bilateral arrangements with six of its member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.
The EPPO is an independent institution of the European Union responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgement crimes against the EU's financial interests.
Source: Google News DM — Crime