International tax fraud worth €33 million, massive seizure in Campania and Veneto

A tax carousel fraud scheme worth over €33 million has been dismantled by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police), coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Venice. Finance officers from the Verona Provincial Command are executing a precautionary seizure aimed at confiscating approximately €33,8 million, ordered by the investigating judge of the Court of Naples, from seven individuals and 24 companies believed to be involved in the illicit scheme.

The investigation, conducted in close coordination between the European Public Prosecutor's Office offices in Italy and Croatia, led to parallel investigative activities both domestically and abroad. The investigations by the Economic and Financial Police Unit in Verona revealed a criminal network with international reach and, according to the prosecution, a criminal conspiracy specializing in VAT fraud in the wholesale trade of cleaning, household, and personal care products.

The operation is the result of over a year of investigations, starting with the analysis of several alerts on companies based in the Verona area. The investigations allowed the reconstruction of a complex fraudulent scheme based on companies fictitiously resident abroad that purchased goods from Italian wholesalers, some of which were located in Verona, without applying VAT.

The goods were then sold only on paper to “missing traders,” shell companies based in Campania, who in turn resold the products to “filter” companies, systematically omitting the payment of taxes.

According to investigators, the so-called conduit companies (the foreign "paper mills") and other legal entities involved in the various stages of the supply chain were allegedly managed in Italy by a criminal organization based in the Naples area.

To make it even more difficult to trace the real beneficiaries of the fraud, the suspects allegedly implemented a continuous turnover of the companies involved, registering the VAT numbers of front men, often penniless, who were used as "figureheads."

The fictitious supply chain, deliberately made complex by multiple steps from one country to another, would have allowed an undue tax saving of over 33 million euros.

In light of these elements, the judicial authorities, sharing the findings of the Verona Financial Police, ordered the seizure aimed at confiscation, including the equivalent amount, up to approximately €33,8 million.

The execution of the order was accompanied by notification of the summons to appear for questioning, a preliminary step for the investigating judge to assess the possible application of precautionary measures against the seven alleged promoters of the association and the 27 suspects identified as formal directors of the companies involved in the fraudulent scheme.

At the same time, searches were carried out on the alleged promoters of the association in the Campania region, with the support of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Naples and the Pozzuoli and Nocera Inferiore Police Companies.

Parallel operations were also conducted in Croatia, where several suspects were arrested, and in Northern Italy, with searches and seizures carried out by the Economic and Financial Police Units of Gorizia and Padua on behalf of the Croatian judicial authorities.

The Guardia di Finanza and the EPPO emphasize that the measure occurs during the preliminary investigation phase and is based on alleged crimes that will be determined during the proceedings. The responsibility of the suspects can be definitively established only with a final criminal sentence, in accordance with the presumption of innocence enshrined in Article 27 of the Constitution.

Finally, the operation confirms the central role of the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the Guardia di Finanza in combating VAT fraud and other illegal activities that damage the European Union budget, distort competition, and penalize legitimate businesses.