News

In an operation code-named ‘Cheap Ink’, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Venice (Italy) today detained 18 suspects, believed to be part of a criminal organisation selling office supplies at cheap prices by fraudulently avoiding VAT payment, with profits estimated at €58 million.

Operation Display took place today in 10 EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia), within the framework of an investigation into cross-border VAT fraud by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Munich.

The EPPO in Riga is carrying out searches today in the city of Daugavpils (Latvia), including at the Daugavpils  University, in a probe into suspected fraud concerning European Union’s Social Fund, with estimated damages of €600 000.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb today filed an indictment against six defendants for the criminal offences of illegal trade of cigarettes, tax or customs duty evasion and bribery, committed as part of a criminal organisation.

In an investigation into suspected fraud concerning the housing of victims of the 2016 earthquake in Italy, the pre-trial judge of the Court of Teramo, at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), granted an order for freezing assets of €800 000, which was executed by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police).

On 11 January 2023, in an investigation into tax evasion carried out by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) executed a freezing order of assets for a value of over €10 million,

According to the result of investigations by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Hamburg and the Customs Investigation Office in Hanover, four persons are suspected of having formed a criminal group to smuggle high-priced motor vehicles and declaring them to the customs authorities at a falsely reduced value.

On 6 December 2022, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) referred a criminal case to the Iași Court, in Romania, where one company registered in Italy and three individuals were indicted for fraud concerning road modernisation works in the municipality of Ibănești, in the Botoșani county.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) filed an indictment against the mayor of Brăhășești, a rural municipality in the Galați county, in Romania, at the Iași County Court, on 7 December, for attempted subsidy fraud and forgery of official documents.

Yesterday, within the framework of an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zlín (Czechia), Czech police (Regional Directorate of the Olomouc region) delivered a resolution to commence the prosecution of one individual and one company. They are accused of subsidy fraud and damages to the financial interests of the European Union (EU), estimated at over €1.8 million (CZK 45.8 million).