(Luxembourg, 4 June 2025) – Last week, a man was convicted of VAT fraud in the first verdict in a Dutch court in a case investigated and prosecuted by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rotterdam (the Netherlands).
The court in Rotterdam sentenced the defendant to 197 days in prison (of which 180 days probational, with a two-year probation period) and 240 hours of community service for his ‘indispensable role’ in an international VAT fraud case.
The case concerned a cross-border VAT carrousel fraud related to the trade of consumer electronics, with links to Germany, Hungary and the UK. The estimated damage to the EU and the national budgets amounts to over €40 million.
The individual was the director of a company in the Netherlands that acted as a ‘missing trader’ and vanished without fulfilling its tax obligations. Other companies in the fraudulent chain then claimed VAT reimbursements from national tax authorities, generating high profits. The defendant had links with suspects in our Midas investigation.
The Dutch company alone intentionally failed to pay approximately €1.5 million in VAT. Although the VAT damage in The Netherlands was no more than €1.5 million, the Rotterdam court ruled that the EPPO was competent, as the total damage of the fraud scheme exceeded €10 million, in accordance with the EPPO regulation.
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.