18 PEOPLE have been arrested in Spain for defrauding the Tax Agency out of €32.8 million in VAT on alcohol imported from several EU countries.
The probe was coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office(EPPO).
It focused on the use of shell companies which used fake invoices to avoid paying taxes on alcohol sold in Spain.
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The arrests were executed by the Policia Nacional and the Tax Agency on Wednesday which included the detention of five ringleaders.
Officers searched 12 addresses in Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia provinces, targeting the premises of companies, the homes of suspects and tax warehouses.
Bank accounts belonging to 60 people and companies under investigation, vehicles, 40 properties and €430,000 in cash were seized in Spain, along with additional seizures in Portugal.
Multiple electronic devices have been seized, including mobile phones, as well as an ‘abundant’ amount of documents relevant to the investigation.
The EPPO said two tax warehouses located in Spain were part of the elaborate scam.
Alcohol subject to excise duties were stored at the premises, without the need to immediately pay VAT,
The tax is only due when the products leave warehouses for commercial distribution.
The criminal enterprise network used bogus intermediaries in Spain who allegedly became responsible for paying VAT once they had ‘bought’ the alcohol.
These third-parties however ‘vanished’ without paying the required duty.
The imported alcohol was then sold to a chain of shell companies via fake invoices with distribution across Spain- avoiding any tax payment.
The Policia Nacional said the gang defrauded tax authorities out of around €32.8 million between 2019 and 2025, with proceeds being laundered.
One of the shell companies investigated had links to the British Overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The EPPO probe remains active with further arrests not being ruled out.
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