(Luxembourg, 14 November 2025) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna and Naples (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) in Naples carried out preventive seizures today, in an investigation into a €260 million VAT fraud scheme involving a criminal network alleged to have imported fuel to the Italian market while systematically evading VAT.
The seized assets belong to the company owned by the ringleader of the criminal network, an entrepreneur from Campania, who had been convicted at first instance on 15 October and sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of €8 600, along with the confiscation of assets up to €73 million, and a ban on business activity.
Based on the evidence, the company was formally registered in the name of the convict’s spouse but, in fact, under his control. It owned a tax warehouse in Magenta (Milan province), which was used to facilitate the VAT carousel fraud schemes involving the trade of fuel.
Earlier in this investigation, in March 2024, the criminal group behind the scheme was dismantled, involving 59 suspects and 13 companies. Judicial measures were ordered against eight individuals, including the suspected ringleaders. Thanks to the investigation, assets worth €20 million, including a tourism resort and over 150 properties, belonging to the criminal syndicate, had been identified and seized in April this year.
At the heart of the criminal scheme is a criminal association, whose members are sometimes linked by family ties, operating a massive VAT fraud in the fuel trading sector, with branches in Italy and abroad. According to the investigation, the fuel was imported from suppliers located in Croatia and Slovenia, as well as other countries, using a chain of more than 40 missing traders in Italy, which would vanish without fulfilling their tax obligations.
It is believed that the fraudulent activities generated invoices for simulated transactions amounting to over €1 billion, causing an estimated damage of around €260 million in unpaid VAT. The criminal group is also suspected of laundering over €35 million of the illicit proceeds, using bank accounts of companies located in Hungary and Romania. This money would ultimately be handed over in cash to the perpetrators of the fraud, following systematic bank withdrawals.
The VAT evasion also allowed the group to resell the fuel at extremely advantageous prices, distorting the principles of fair competition on the market.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (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.