EPPO seizes €2.4 million in Romania in investigation into fraudulent fuel imports to Italy

 In an investigation into a complex cross-border VAT fraud involving fuels imported to the Italian market, led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bologna (Italy), assets worth €2.4 million have been seized in Romania, https://www.eppo.europa.eu/ informs. This comes in addition to previuous seizures executed in Italy, worth €19.9 million, which did not cover the whole damage to the EU budget caused by the fraudulent activities under investigation, estimated at €92 million. For this reason, when the European Delegated Prosecutors in Bologna found assets of one of the suspects located in Romania, they requested their colleagues in Bucharest to seize them, which was promptly carried out, thanks to the operational model of the EPPO as a single office.  Under the judicial order, issued by the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Parma at the request of the EPPO, law enforcement officers seized 18 properties located in Bucharest, belonging to the suspect. In addition, 14 bank accounts were frozen, as well as shareholdings in Romanian companies operating in real estate and in the fuel trading sector, all with a total combined worth of €2.4 million.  The investigation concerns a suspected criminal group led by three individuals, all Italians, working from Dubai, Miami and Naples. They are suspected of having introduced petroleum products into the Italian territory from refineries in Croatia and Slovenia for their subsequent resale at a low cost, using a string of shell companies and a buffer company. According to the investigation, the fuel was sold to companies in Romania and the United Kingdom and then invoiced to Italian shell companies, all managed by members of the criminal organisation. The evidence indicates that the fuel products were actually sold to a company based in Parma, believed to have committed Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud – a complex criminal scheme that takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, as these are exempt from VAT. This allowed the company to resell the petrochemical products below market prices, through 17 unbranded petrol stations located in the provinces of Brescia, Ferrara, Lodi, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Verona – thus obtaining an unlawful advantage over honest economic operators. It is estimated that the scheme caused a damage to the tax administration of more than €92 million, relating to unpaid tax since 2016. The assets located in Romania belong to the legal representative of the company under investigation in Parma.  The freezing order was executed in Romania under the provisions in Article 31 of the EPPO Regulation, which allow for faster cross-border investigations. According to these provisions, the EPPO’s European Delegated Prosecutors are able to request their colleagues in other participating Member States to undertake specific investigation measures, in a faster and more comprehensive manner than under the traditional judicial cooperation methods. In Italy, the previous seizures were carried out by the Italian Financial Police (Comando Provinciale della Guardia di Finanza – Parma), under the direction of the EPPO. In Romania, the freezing order was executed by police officers from the EPPO Support Structure in that country.  All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian 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.