(Luxembourg, 31 October 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Hamburg has filed an indictment against five suspects, following an investigation into a vast intra-community VAT fraud scheme, code-named Goliath.
The defendants – three Danish citizens and two Turkish nationals residing in Germany –, are accused of establishing or participating in a criminal organisation focused on the sale of electronic goods. The group is believed to have committed over a hundred cases of aggravated tax fraud between 2019 and 2023, causing an estimated damage of more than €188 million to the EU and national budgets. Two of the suspects are also accused of using the Hawala system to launder illicit profits and of inciting others to commit unlawful acts.
The two main defendants – a Danish citizen who was arrested in Kenya on 23 May 2024 and a Turkish national – had already been convicted in March 2025 in the same investigation for other instances of tax evasion. They are currently serving sentences in Germany of five years and nine months, and five years and two months, respectively.
Setting up a criminal organisation to commit VAT fraud
The investigation showed that the two main defendants joined forces to create and operate a criminal organisation dedicated to VAT fraud. They were first members of a criminal network responsible for the so-called ‘Swedish attack’, a VAT fraud scheme targeting Sweden between 2017 and 2021, causing millions of euros in tax losses.
In 2019, the two, together with another suspect currently at large, allegedly formed their own criminal group in parallel, to generate higher revenues from VAT fraud. To this end, they established multiple layers of fake companies in France, Germany, Hungary and Sweden, to be used in a carousel VAT fraud scheme. According to the investigation, the actual trading of goods, including AirPods and other electronics, was carried out from an office in Istanbul (Turkey), managed by one of the main defendants.
Another Danish national is accused of joining the criminal organisation, allegedly using his Irish pub in Denmark for fake deliveries. He is currently imprisoned in Denmark for other financial frauds.
Furthermore, the criminal organisation allegedly used straw directors and shareholders from Poland and Lithuania, as well as fictitious identities supported by forged documents, to open bank accounts with the help of a notary.
Hawala and cryptocurrency used for money laundering
The two main defendants are also accused of actively participating in the criminal organisation of a Hawala network (an unregulated financial channel based on a network of trusted brokers) to move the illicit proceeds. They allegedly did so by using some of the firms they controlled to settle invoices from companies in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa with European companies. They are also believed to have used an existing Hawala network in North-Rhine-Westphalia to transfer funds from Turkey to Germany.
Furthermore, the defendants are accused of founding a block chain company to launder the profits by purchasing cryptocurrency. The investigation also showed that the main defendants used fake consulting firms, including one in Istanbul, to launder funds and funnel proceeds to Turkey.
If found guilty, the defendants face up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent German courts of law.
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.