Agropoli, a notice of conclusion of preliminary investigations was notified to 3 subjects, investigated for 'carousel fraud'

Agropoli, a notice of conclusion of preliminary investigations was notified to three individuals, investigated for a “carousel fraud” of over 115 million euros

Following a complex investigation coordinated by this Public Prosecutor's Office, the Guardia di Finanza of Salerno has notified a notice of conclusion of preliminary investigations against three individuals, deemed responsible for a transnational tax fraud of over 115 million euros, perpetrated between Italy, Croatia and Bulgaria, through the issuing of false invoices relating to the purchase and sale of beverages, foodstuffs and household items.

The investigative activity, conducted by the Guardia di Finanza of the Agropoli Company, originates from the investigation of some "reports of suspicious transactions", concerning bank transfers arranged by three companies in the province of Salerno, for amounts of several million euros, in favor of a Croatian and a Bulgarian company.

Following further investigation, it was discovered that the companies of interest, both Italian and foreign, were in reality mere "shell companies", specifically set up for the sole purpose of issuing and receiving fake invoices.

In fact, from the database searches carried out, one of the companies would have had its registered office and its offices at what was in reality a mere postal address, located in Agropoli (SA), while the other in an old container owned by a cement factory in Cicerale (SA). Both, in any case, were completely devoid of their own logistical-administrative structure, as well as the personnel and means necessary to carry out any entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, their management had been artfully placed by a Romanian citizen, who immediately made himself untraceable on national territory.

Thanks to the timely operational developments that gradually emerged, also through the use of international cooperation tools, telephone interceptions and bank investigations, the Finance Police were able to identify the real creator of the fraudulent mechanism in the person who was the sole de facto administrator of the various companies involved (national and foreign).

During one of the searches carried out, between the provinces of Benevento and Salerno, a "hidden" office was also discovered, created inside an apartment in Angri (SA), where cell phones, company stamps, cheque books and several personal computers were found and seized, on which copious accounting and administrative documentation attributable to the various legal entities under investigation was stored.

The fraud carried out had allowed the perpetrators to purchase goods in Italy for several million euros, unduly benefiting from the tax relief resulting from the compilation of "declarations of intent" (documents with which the entitled subjects, i.e. those with the qualification of "habitual exporters", can carry out the operations in question without applying VAT, since the products being purchased are intended for resale to other EU economic operators), which however turned out to be ideologically false.

The purchased goods, which formally appeared to have been transported and sold in Croatia and Bulgaria, in reality never left the national territory, but were instead sold, via companies in Salerno, to local wholesalers in the food sector, and therefore could not legitimately benefit from the tax exemption regime.

In light of the inquisitorial framework outlined, the PM of this Prosecutor's Office has ordered an emergency precautionary seizure for a total amount of over 2,7 million euros, in relation to which the military have seized financial liquidity for approximately 600 thousand euros and commercial credits with third parties for more than 2 million euros.

The responsible parties have meanwhile been reported for the crimes of issuing and using invoices for non-existent transactions, concealment or destruction of accounting documents and failure to pay VAT, hypotheses now being examined by this Judicial Office.