(Luxembourg, 23 January 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Naples (Italy) has secured convictions against four defendants and plea agreements with another seven suspects, including four public officials, over their participation in a criminal organisation that sold electronics at low prices by systematically evading VAT.
The investigation, carried out with the support of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Naples, unveiled a criminal association aimed at committing carousel VAT 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.
On 8 January 2026, the Court of Naples convicted four defendants – an accountant and three entrepreneurs – and sentenced them to prison terms of six to ten years, ordering the confiscation of approximately €3 million seized earlier in the investigation to recover the evaded taxes. A member of the Financial Police was acquitted.
In addition, seven more suspects pleaded guilty and signed plea bargain agreements, which were approved by the judge and have become final. Among those who entered plea agreements are three members of the Italian Financial Police, who agreed to a punishment between four and a half years and two years’ imprisonment; and a manager of Italy’s Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate – Riscossione), who agreed to four years’ imprisonment. They were accused of accepting bribes in order to slow down criminal proceedings and tax audits, avoid the enforced payment of tax debts and illegally obtain information from police and judicial databases.
An accountant and a personal aide, who carried out tasks for the group, have also pleaded guilty and accepted a punishment between four years and five years and four months in prison. Finally, a middleman in the criminal scheme has agreed to a punishment of two years’ imprisonment.
The Italian Financial Police worked closely with the EPPO in this investigation, leading to the officials’ arrests and diligently tackling the suspected criminal activity within their ranks.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until a final decision proving them guilty in the competent Italian 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.