(Luxembourg, 6 December 2024) – Two suspects were arrested last week at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Munich (Germany) as part of an investigation into a €32 million cross-border VAT carousel fraud involving the sales of mobile phones.
This type of fraud takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, as these are exempt from value added tax (VAT). According to the investigation, a part of the scheme involved a German company that deliberately omitted mobile phone sales from its bookkeeping. The phones were picked up directly by Austrian and Dutch sellers, who sold them off the books without VAT and sent the proceeds back to the German company by post. The two arrested suspects allegedly sent packages containing €230 000 in cash every two weeks between 2020 and 2023.
The methods used by others involved in the scheme to return the proceeds of the fraud are still under investigation.
Both suspects were detained in Vienna (Austria) with the support of the Cottbus Tax Investigation Office (Steuerfahndung Cottbus) and the Vienna Office for Combating Fraud (Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung – Steuerfahndung Wien).
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent German 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.