DIICOT Iași conducts 48 raids: fiscal evasion network in construction, damage of 55 million lei
Police officers and DIICOT prosecutors are conducting 48 raids on Thursday in Bucharest and six counties, targeting a group of over 20 people suspected of fiscal evasion and money laundering in the construction sector.
Network of shell companies in construction dismantled through 48 raids in seven counties
Police officers from the Organised Crime Fighting Brigade in Iași and DIICOT prosecutors in Iași conducted 48 home raids on Thursday in Bucharest municipality and in Iași, Giurgiu, Prahova, Maramureș, Dâmbovița and Ilfov counties, according to Jurnalul.ro. The case targets an organised criminal group suspected of fiscal evasion, embezzlement and money laundering in the construction sector.
According to the Romanian Police, the investigation established that, starting from 2021, over 20 people acted in a coordinated manner within the group, with the main purpose of avoiding tax obligations related to activity in the construction sector.
Fictitious invoice circuit and shell companies
The criminal mechanism is said to have operated through a fictitious commercial circuit, composed of beneficiary companies, intermediary companies and shell firms. Group members are alleged to have issued and successively recorded invoices for fictitious or overvalued commercial operations, particularly for construction works.
"The investigations have shown that members of the organised criminal group acted in a coordinated manner, on multiple functional levels, each having distinct roles within the criminal mechanism, namely the identification of companies used in the circuit, the issuance and recording of supporting documents, and the performance of bank transfers and subsequent withdrawal of sums of money in cash," the Romanian Police transmitted.
The documents produced — work schedules, reception protocols and other specific acts — are said to have been used to apparently justify service provisions and purchases, which in reality did not exist or were overvalued. The stated purpose of the investigators: unlawful VAT deduction, reduction of tax obligations and the creation of cash outflows without correspondence in real economic activity.
Companies with no employees and no real activity
The investigation revealed that the firms involved in the circuit did not carry out real economic activities, in relation to the volume of transactions declared. Many of them had no hired personnel, the necessary economic capacity or relevant external commercial relations.
The sums transferred between companies are said to have been successively redistributed through multiple firms, after which they are said to have been withdrawn in cash, in order to be removed from the banking circuit and to conceal the origin of the funds.
"The evidence administered, to date, has highlighted the coordination of activities between the persons involved, the management of financial flows, the preparation of supporting documentation and the remittance of sums of money resulting from the fictitious circuit, and has outlined the existence of a closed transactional circuit, within which the companies involved would have conducted commercial relations almost exclusively between themselves, an aspect specific to mechanisms of organised fiscal evasion," the police officers stated.
Damage estimated at over 55 million lei
The investigation has quantified damage to the state budget of at least 16,665,844 lei, of which 9,067,303 lei represents VAT, and 7,598,538 lei — profit tax. These sums cover, for the time being, only the period 2023–2025.
Additional damage of at least 38,729,358 lei has been estimated against the commercial companies involved, calculated for the same period. Combined, the total harm identified exceeds 55 million lei.
The persons targeted are to be heard at the headquarters of DIICOT – Iași Territorial Service. The investigations target the constitution of an organised criminal group, fiscal evasion, embezzlement, dishonest use of company credit and money laundering.
Operation involving dozens of police structures
The action benefited from the support of several structures: the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, the organised crime fighting brigades in Bucharest and Ploiești, the organised crime fighting services in Giurgiu, Ilfov, Dâmbovița and Maramureș, the Service for the Investigation of Economic Crime and the Service for Special Operations from Iași Police Inspectorate. The action was also attended by officers from the Special Intervention Brigade of the Gendarmerie, gendarmerie inspectorates from Dâmbovița and Prahova, as well as the Mobile Gendarmerie Group Prahova.
Source: Jurnalul.ro