(Luxembourg, 19 September 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Riga (Latvia) has submitted three plea agreements to the Court of Economic Affairs (Ekonomisko lietu tiesa), as part of an investigation code-named Admiral 2.0, involving large-scale organised tax evasion and money laundering.
Three individuals have admitted their guilt and requested the conclusion of plea agreements. One of the suspects has been in pre-trial detention since the end of November 2024. Their actions have caused damage to the state budgets of Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain amounting to €5 million. One of the defendants has also pleaded guilty to laundering more than €1.4 million.
These are the first criminal proceedings before a Latvian court in which several EU Member States are involved as victims. Specifically, the revenue authorities of Austria, Germany and France, acting on behalf of their respective states, have applied for victim status in the proceedings and will take part in the court hearing.
The plea agreements reached with each of the accused are scheduled to be approved by the court on 26 September 2025. The punishment includes one year imprisonment and fines of over €1 million, as well as confiscation of property, including cash, luxury watches and cryptocurrency.
In June 2025, the EPPO had already referred to the Court of Economic Affairs 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. If found guilty, this defendant could face sentences of up to ten years of imprisonment for tax evasion and 12 years for money laundering.
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, Italy, Latvia and Spain.
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.
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.