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(Luxembourg, 3 June 2024) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), seven individuals were arrested today in Italy, on suspicion of orchestrating an €18 million VAT fraud involving the trade of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Rome and Foggia also executed a freezing order, at the EPPO’s request, targeting bank accounts, real estate and other assets.
The judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Foggia has ordered the pre-trial detention of three of the suspects, while the other suspects will remain under house arrest. All are suspected of participation in a criminal organisation, VAT fraud and self-money laundering – which involves the same individuals committing both the primary fraud and the subsequent laundering of the illicit proceeds.
The focus of the investigation is a suspected criminal organisation, active in beverage trading and with headquarters in Foggia. According to the evidence, the suspects employed a variety of fraudulent tactics, including the issuance of fake invoices for non-existent goods and the conducting of fictitious transactions, via Italian and Bulgarian companies, which acted as so-called missing traders – shell companies established for the sole purpose of evading the payment of VAT. Like this, the beverages appeared to pass through Bulgaria, but in fact were distributed directly in Italy without ever passing through Bulgaria. This allowed them to sell products at artificially low prices, undercutting legitimate competitors and resulting in VAT losses amounting to €18 million.
Among the Italian companies involved in this investigation are some important distributors who invoice millions of euro every year.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.