- Former notary convicted for forgery and false notarisations in an €80 million VAT fraud case
- Investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Berlin
- Complex network involved luxury cars and medical face masks traded through shell companies in multiple countries
- Defendants used people in economic difficulty as straw men
- Main suspects forged signatures with the help of the notary and a tax advisor
- Notary deliberately notarised transfers based on forged signatures
- Defendant sentenced to two years of imprisonment, suspended on probation
- Confiscation of notary fees ordered
- Judgment for other defendants expected in April
- EPPO is responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes against the financial interests of the EU.
Source: eppo.europa.eu
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.