Tax raid in Magdeburg: 200 million euros through designer fuels!

Tax raid in Magdeburg: 200 million euros through designer fuels!

In a sensational coup, tax investigators have targeted an international organization that is said to have caused tax damage of over 200 million euros with fake designer fuels. The investigation that also affects a company in Saxony-Anhalt led to searches in Magdeburg and other cities, where the investigators secured safes, cryptocurrencies, luxurious Rolex watches and even sharp firearms. A total of two people were arrested in the actions, including a man from Saxony-Anhalt, while the other arrest took place outside the state. This advanced investigation has also focused on the fraudulent methods with which the designer fuels in Germany get on the market. These are often declared as lubricating oil and thus hit a winding lane from Poland to Germany, where they are then re -labeled as a diesel. MDR reports that the suspects should also be involved in money laundering by buying precious metals or transferring money to foreign accounts.

A first look at the dimensions of these investigations shows that the European public prosecutor's office (Eusta) is responsible for the persecution of these severe tax offenses. In July last year, two managers from a company from the Harz foothills had already been targeted by the Magdeburg public prosecutor, which may be associated with ongoing investigations. It remains to be seen whether these two arrested people are actually identical to the managers they are looking for. A request on this topic is already underway.

a large network of tax fraud

The checks are part of larger investigative measures that are summarized under the name Huracán and outline more than 2,000 investigators from tax and customs authorities and the police. In their context, continuous raids took place in seven countries, including Germany, Belgium, Hungary and Spain, to uncover a large -scale vAT fraud that aims at international trade in over 10,000 vehicles. According to Zoll, the sales from this fraud network could have been 225 million euros, which corresponds to an estimated damage amount of at least 38 million euros in the VAT. The investigation was launched in 2021 after Italian authorities pointed out the fraudulent activities.

As part of this extensive determination, not only over 450 searches and five arrest warrants were enforced, but also ensured luxury cars and real estate. It is clear that the operators involved have worked out a clever scheme for obtaining added reimbursements that are deeply embedded in the structures of internationally organized crime.

The demand for more efficient measures

In view of the severity of these incidents and the enormous financial damage caused by tax offenses, former chief prosecutor Anne Brorhilker urgently expresses the desire for an independent federal authority to combat tax crime. It emphasizes how important it is to systematically act against the practices of Cum-Ex and Cum-Cum, which can be viewed as part of a larger, international criminal structure. [Welt] (https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article256080322/ Tax rear education of the international-organized-Kriminalitaet.html) estimates the annual tax damage in Germany at around 100 billion euros, which illustrates the urgency of increased and centralized evidence.

The entanglements in organized crime are deep and require extensive measures to master these problems. A central approach could be the creation of expertise and resources in the finance ministries over a longer period of time, and the voices of experts are becoming increasingly louder to support companies in need of protection.