Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TERMOLI. An entrepreneur from lower Molise also involved in the blitz carried out yesterday by the soldiers of the provincial commands of the Guardia di Finanza of Matera and Turin have implemented an order for the application of personal and real precautionary measures issued by the Judge for preliminary investigations of Turin, on request from the local office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (Eppo), against 14 subjects, and for preventive seizure of profits, for over 15 million euros, for criminal association aimed at committing VAT fraud, fraudulent subtraction from the payment of tax on consumption and self-laundering.
The investigations, carried out by the Economic – Financial Police Units of Matera and Turin, concerned subjects operating on the national territory and in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Belgium who, through a branched criminal network, introduced and marketed large quantities of lubricating oils for vehicles (cars and trucks), intended for sale to consumers, with “under the table” payments, implementing multiple strategies aimed at evading VAT and the expected national tax, both through the interposition of “paper mill” companies (without a real operational structure) on which to burden the taxes due, systematically unpaid, and by setting up ingenious systems to avoid controls and sanctions, such as the creation and use: of tax documents with indication of non-existent subjects, both as senders and as recipients, to be used in the event of checks during the transport of the goods; of transport documents indicating compliant recipients; of copies of delivery notes made by color photocopying from the originals, for the first release for consumption with subsequent destruction of the copies (artificially used along the way), once transport is completed, upon arrival of the load at destination and in the absence of controls along the itinerary; the use of companies set up specifically to allow illegal purchases of lubricating oil, otherwise indicated on the transport documents such as windshield washer fluid, shampoo, etc.
The searches and IT analyzes also made it possible to reveal that a company operating in the Matera area, one of the main “hubs” for the sale of lubricating oils in central and southern Italy, which also obtained supplies through the criminal association, systematically marketed the purchased lubricating oil “under the table”, reselling it to other compliant operators in the sector, hiding the product worth over 52 million euros from the tax authorities, as ascertained through the analysis of the server containing the company’s hidden accounting.
During the investigations, thanks to technical investigations, eighteen seizures were made on the national territory of batches of goods imported and marketed illegally, for over 470 tonnes of lubricating oil as well as other similar products.
Finally, from the investigations, hypotheses of laundering of illicit proceeds and counterfeiting of lubricating oil brands emerged, given that the bulk product was marketed (removing the original labels and affixing others specially printed by a compliant printer), reporting brands, characteristics physical and indications of use relating to product types of greater commercial value.
The overall verified evasion, for the years 2017/2023, is equal to over 14 million euros of VAT and over one million euros of national consumption tax.
The findings collected, also acquired through EPPO’s international cooperation channels, allowed the European Prosecutor’s Office to request and obtain from the Judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Turin a provision for the application of personal precautionary measures against 14 suspects, of which 8 recipients of prison custody and 6 recipients of house arrest.
The preventive seizure, also for equivalent, of financial resources and other assets was also ordered up to the amount of €15,448,000, an amount corresponding to the profit from VAT fraud and evasion of consumption tax.
Dog units were also used for the execution of the precautionary measure, which involved the provinces of Matera, Turin, Foggia, Bari, Campobasso, Rome and Trieste, and was also coordinated in 3 other EU states adhering to EPPO. specialized in the search for cash money (cash dog).
It should be noted that the proceeding is in the preliminary investigation phase and that, regardless of the circumstantial elements collected which led to the issuing of precautionary measures, the suspects cannot be considered guilty until a final conviction has been pronounced.
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
Entrepreneur from Bassano Molise involved in the community scam, the raid by the Guardia di Finanza
TermoliOnLine
