(Luxembourg, 10 July 2025) – Following a large-scale VAT fraud investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne (Germany), code-named ´Huracán´, one individual was convicted this week by the Regional Court in Düsseldorf for VAT fraud. This is the ninth person to be convicted.
The indictment against this suspect has been transmitted at the end of February this year to the Regional Court in Düsseldorf (Germany), accusing him of a multimillion VAT fraud concerning the international trade of cars.
The court considered that the defendant had worked together with one of the main defendants, already convicted in October last year, to export vehicles from Germany to other countries (mainly Portugal) as so-called ‘margin cars’. This means that the car dealers who bought the cars only paid VAT on the margin they made (the difference between the price paid for the vehicle and the price for which it is sold), and not on the net value of the car. This fraudulent behaviour resulted in VAT evasion in the country of the final seller and led to a VAT loss of €2.3 million in Germany.
The court pronounced the judgment within less than six months of the filing of the indictment, as the defendant had admitted to the offences. This is the third conviction in the Huracán investigation.
The defendant was sentenced to three years and one month of imprisonment and the court ordered the confiscation of assets worth €800 000 from the defendant as part of his sentence.
The defendant has one week to lodge an appeal; otherwise, the decision will become final.
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.