(Luxembourg, 10 June 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Riga (Latvia) has referred to the Court of Economic Affairs (Ekonomisko lietu tiesa) the suspected ringleader of the criminal syndicate targeted by the Admiral 2.0 investigation, for large-scale tax evasion in an organised group and money laundering. He has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest, on 28 November 2024.
The overall fraudulent scheme under investigation in Admiral 2.0, which involved the sales of consumer electronics, has an estimated damage of €297 million in tax to the EU budget and the national budgets of Austria, France, Germany, and Latvia.
The first court hearing is already scheduled on 30 June 2025. If found guilty, the defendant could face sentences of up to ten years of imprisonment for tax evasion and 12 years for money laundering.
In addition, Latvia’s State Revenue Service Tax and Custom Police Department has sent another case to the EPPO, involving suspects connected to the Admiral 2.0 investigation. The case involves three individuals suspected of large-scale VAT evasion in an organised group and large-scale money laundering, who have now also been charged by the EPPO. One of these suspects has also been in custody since 28 November 2024. In these proceedings, the estimated damage amounts to €5 million, with damage to the EU budget and to the national budgets of Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
According to Latvia’s Criminal Law, the crimes under investigation are punishable with two to 12 years’ imprisonment, with the possibility of confiscation of property.
The EPPO counted on the excellent support of the State Revenue Service Tax and Custom Police, both in Latvia and internationally, for this ongoing investigation. The EPPO suspects over 400 companies to be part of this complex fraudulent scheme, which is also believed to have been used for laundering proceeds stemming from drug trafficking, different types of cybercrime, and investment fraud.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Latvian courts of law.
Admiral 2.0 emerges from biggest VAT fraud investigated in the EU
The Admiral 2.0 case stems from our Admiral flagship investigation. The Admiral investigation was first announced in November 2022 and is considered the biggest VAT fraud ever investigated in the EU, extending to over 30 countries, with an overall damage now estimated at €2.9 billion,
The EPPO reported on 28 November 2024 about a criminal syndicate that was using the same modus operandi, and partly also the same organisation and infrastructure, as the perpetrators investigated under Admiral, to carry out a massive VAT carousel fraud – a complex criminal scheme that takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, as these are exempt from value-added tax.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.