Photo: Kriminalpolizei mit Zentralaufgaben (KPIZ) des Polizeipräsidiums Oberbayern Nord
Luxury cars can be someone’s dream come true, or the reason why they end up in jail. A major operation coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), against an international group involved in car tax evasion, led to the arrest of ten people, and seizures worth millions of Euros.
EPPO announced the successful completion of an operation against an organized crime group that was evading taxes, by re-selling luxury cars numerous times in different European countries. This is known as a “VAT (value-added tax) carousel.” The group’s main operations were unfolding in Eichstätt (Germany) and Milan (Italy), and Euronews reported that police in Augsburg, Germany, has been investigating this case for over a year.
According to EPPO, this is how things went down: a car dealership in Italy purchased luxury cars from the German car dealership, but this was done as a fake private purchase agreement between a non-existing third company, in Germany, and an individual in Italy. This way, they evaded taxes, since the German cars were supposed to be registered in Italy.
The private buyer then faked a sale to the car dealership in Milan, which then sold the cars to other dealers or individual customers. The people involved in the scheme managed to not only evade taxes, but also make bigger profits.
The operation involved arrests made in Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria. A total of 13 high-end cars were seized in Germany, and the value of the recovered assets is estimated at €13 million ($15 million). The authorities involved in the case did not release any further details about the luxury vehicles that were seized, or the people who were arrested, other than the fact that three of them are connected to ‘Ndrangheta.
This Italian mafia organization is located in Calabria and is considered one of the largest organizations of this type. In fact, this tax evasion EPPO operation also led to the detection of a drug trafficking case in Italy, which resulted in several arrests and seizures.
It’s a shame when luxury cars are involved in illegal actions, especially when public figures are also involved.
According to EPPO, this is how things went down: a car dealership in Italy purchased luxury cars from the German car dealership, but this was done as a fake private purchase agreement between a non-existing third company, in Germany, and an individual in Italy. This way, they evaded taxes, since the German cars were supposed to be registered in Italy.
The private buyer then faked a sale to the car dealership in Milan, which then sold the cars to other dealers or individual customers. The people involved in the scheme managed to not only evade taxes, but also make bigger profits.
The operation involved arrests made in Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria. A total of 13 high-end cars were seized in Germany, and the value of the recovered assets is estimated at €13 million ($15 million). The authorities involved in the case did not release any further details about the luxury vehicles that were seized, or the people who were arrested, other than the fact that three of them are connected to ‘Ndrangheta.
This Italian mafia organization is located in Calabria and is considered one of the largest organizations of this type. In fact, this tax evasion EPPO operation also led to the detection of a drug trafficking case in Italy, which resulted in several arrests and seizures.
It’s a shame when luxury cars are involved in illegal actions, especially when public figures are also involved.
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