Santa Maria Capua Vetere – A maelstrom of shell companies, false declarations of intent, and fuel resold at rock-bottom prices to evade taxes. This is the scheme behind the massive carousel fraud uncovered by the Caserta Economic and Financial Police Unit and the First Group of the Guardia di Finanza of Naples, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
Following a long and complex investigative activity, the investigating judge of the Sammarinese Court has ordered a precautionary seizure of over 17 million euros against 30 companies and as many individuals, believed to be involved in various capacities in the tax evasion system organised in the sector of energy products for automotive use.
The mechanism of "carousel fraud"
According to investigators' reconstruction, the group allegedly built a complex system of "shell" and "filter" companies, created specifically to simulate only apparent commercial transactions and avoid paying VAT.
The real companies, downstream in the circuit, thus obtained fuel supplies at prices below the market, distorting competition and generating huge illicit profits.
The entire fuel supply chain, from the tax warehouse to the roadside distributors, was apparently contaminated by the fraudulent system, which exploited two main tax evasion channels.
Two channels of fraud: exemptions and false declarations
The first mechanism revolved around a distorted application of the 2018 Stability Law, which provided for the possibility of deferring VAT payments for "reliable" operators in specific cases.
In reality, the beneficiaries of this tax relief were "missing trader" companies, registered under nominees with no financial standing and no tax records. These companies purchased the fuel under an exemption regime and then resold it—via a chain of fictitious invoices—to compliant companies, who then placed it on the market without complying with their tax obligations.
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The second system involved the fraudulent use of declarations of intent, documents that allow regular exporters to non-EU countries to purchase goods and services without applying VAT.
Shell companies, with no real business operations, pretended to qualify for these benefits, thus unfairly obtaining tax-exempt supplies.
The investigation, still in the preliminary phase, aims to protect the free market and competition from practices that distort the fuel sector, harming honest operators and diverting resources from the Treasury.
Investigators believe that the game-winning companies acted as veritable "tax shelters," allowing the final beneficiaries to accumulate huge profits through value-added tax evasion.
The precautionary seizure order, worth a total of over 17 million euros, affects current accounts, company assets, and assets attributable to the individuals and legal entities involved.
The investigation will continue to precisely delineate individual responsibilities and the true extent of the business network that allowed the fraud to flourish.
This investigation confirms that the strategic yet complex energy sector remains fertile ground for high-level tax fraud, where finance, law, and economic crime intertwine to generate multi-million dollar business.
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