Investigation Loop: Searches, seizures and arrests in Germany in probe into VAT fraud involving the sales of luxury cars

(Luxembourg, 12 November 2026) - At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Munich (Germany), three suspects were arrested this week in Germany in an investigation into a criminal organisation suspected of a €10 million VAT fraud involving the sales of cars. Searches and seizures were carried out in Germany as well.

According to the investigation, code-named ‘Loop’, the criminal organisation is suspected of operating a cross-border VAT carousel fraud – a complex criminal scheme that takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, as these are exempt from value-added tax. 

Since early 2024, the company of the suspects, registered in Germany, has been part of the fraud scheme and acted as a so-called broker, serving as an intermediary between companies in the chain and claiming VAT refunds from the tax administration to which they were not entitled. The suspects enlisted certain fraudulent companies as their suppliers and sold the luxury vehicles to companies abroad which were controlled by the criminal organisation. The suppliers did not act as typical traders but merely served to issue invoices according to the instructions of the leaders of the criminal organisation behind the VAT fraud scheme, in order to claim input tax refunds. 

With the support of the Criminal Tax Investigation Unit – Special Task Force on Major Tax Fraud Nuremberg (Steuerfahndung - Sonderkommission Schwerer Steuerbetrug Nürnberg), Tax Office Aschaffenburg (Finanzamt Aschaffenburg) and the Criminal Police Inspectorate of Lower Franconia (KPI(Z) Unterfranken), eleven searches were carried out in the premises of the suspects and companies under investigation. Luxury cars, cash and real estate worth €1 million were seized. These investigative measures were executed jointly with the Würzburg Public Prosecutor’s Office.

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent German 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.