- Trial of 26 suspects accused of international VAT fraud begins in Portugal
- Defendants charged with setting up criminal organization to evade VAT payment
- Charges include tax fraud, money laundering, corruption, and forgery of documents
- Criminal procedure against one suspect suspended with certain obligations
- Court scheduled 17 hearings from October 2024 to January 2025
- Defendants may face up to eight years in prison if found guilty
- Estimated damage in Portugal alone over €80 million
- Estimated losses to EU countries under Admiral investigation could amount to €2.9 billion
- EPPO responsible for investigating crimes against 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.
