- European law enforcement authorities conducted searches in Latvia and Czech Republic.
- The searches were part of an investigation into a suspected EUR 14 million VAT fraud scheme involving second-hand mobile phones.
- Five arrests were made following the searches.
- The suspects are believed to have fraudulently applied a reduced VAT rate to mobile phones imported from the United States and other non-EU countries.
- They falsely declared the phones as originating in the EU to benefit from the VAT margin scheme.
- Assets worth EUR 2.5 million were seized, including houses, cars, motorcycles, precious stones, luxury handbags, and watches.
- Bank accounts were frozen, and IT data and key documents were secured.
- The five arrested individuals have been charged with tax fraud.
- If found guilty, they risk five to ten years of imprisonment under Czech law.
- Evidence-gathering activities were carried out in several countries, including Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, and Slovakia.
Source: baltictimes.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
