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27/03/2026   European Public Prosecutor's Office News

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Spain: EPPO detains 18 suspects in probe into €32.8 million VAT fraud involving imported alcohol In Spanish below / En español más abajo  (Luxembourg, 27 March 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Madrid (Spain), 18 presumed members of a criminal network, including five suspected ringleaders, were detained on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in a €32.8 million VAT fraud scheme linked to imported alcohol from several EU Member States. Searches were carried out in 12 locations in the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia, targeting companies’ premises, houses of suspects and tax warehouses. In addition, law enforcement agents seized bank accounts belonging to 60 individuals and companies under investigation, cars, 40 real estate properties and €430 000 in cash. Additional seizures were executed in Portugal. The investigation uncovered a criminal organisation that used shell companies located in Belgium, Portugal and Spain, and false invoices to evade the payment of taxes for importing and selling large quantities of alcoholic beverages into the Spanish market. The fraudulent scheme involved two Spanish tax warehouses – facilities where certain excise goods can be stored without immediate payment of taxes. The VAT becomes payable only when the products leave the warehouses for commercial distribution or consumption. Once there, fraudulent intermediaries (‘missing traders’) based in Spain controlled by the organisation acquire the alcohol and become liable for VAT, but they vanish without fulfilling their tax obligations. The alcohol is then sold to a chain of fraudulent companies, using false invoices, in order to hide the whole deceptive circuit. Finally, the alcohol is distributed in Spain, using distributors controlled by the criminal network. The VAT derived from these fictitious operations is never paid.   more   España: la Fiscalía Europea detiene a 18 sospechosos en una investigación sobre un fraude de IVA de 32,8 millones de euros relacionado con la importación de alcohol (Luxemburgo, 27 de marzo de 2026) – A petición de la Fiscalía Europea (EPPO) en Madrid (España), 18 presuntos miembros de una red criminal, incluidos los cinco supuestos cabecillas, fueron detenidos el miércoles por su presunta implicación en un fraude de IVA de 32,8 millones de euros vinculado a la importación de alcohol procedente de varios Estados miembros de la UE. En el curso de esta operación se llevaron a cabo registros en 12 localizaciones de las provincias de Barcelona, Tarragona y Valencia, correspondientes a las sedes de empresas, los domicilios de sospechosos y depósitos fiscales. Además, los agentes intervinieron cuentas bancarias pertenecientes a 60 personas físicas y jurídicas bajo investigación, vehículos, 40 bienes inmuebles y 430 000 euros en efectivo. También se practicaron incautaciones adicionales en Portugal. La investigación ha puesto al descubierto un entramado criminal que utilizaba sociedades pantalla radicadas en Bélgica, Portugal y España, empleando facturas falsas, para eludir el pago de los impuestos correspondientes a la importación y venta de grandes cantidades de bebidas alcohólicas en el mercado español. En este entramado fraudulento operaban dos depósitos fiscales en España – instalaciones en las que determinados productos sujetos a impuestos especiales pueden almacenarse sin el pago inmediato de impuestos. El IVA solo se devenga cuando los productos salen de los depósitos para su distribución comercial o consumo. En ese momento, intermediarios ficticios (“missing traders”) radicados en España, controlados por la organización, adquirían el alcohol y pasaban a ser responsables del IVA, pero desaparecían sin cumplir sus obligaciones fiscales. A continuación, el alcohol se vendía a una cadena de empresas fraudulentas mediante facturas falsas, con el fin de ocultar todo el circuito fraudulento. Finalmente, el alcohol se distribuía en España a través de distribuidores controlados por la red criminal. El IVA derivado de estas operaciones ficticias nunca se abonaba.   more   Romania: Eight indicted for €9 million fraud in procurement of medical equipment during pandemic (Luxembourg, 26 March 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bucharest (Romania) has indicted eight defendants (six individuals and two companies) this week before the Bucharest tribunal for a €9 million fraud involving EU funds for the purchase of protective medical equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the investigation, in 2020 and 2021, a criminal network was formed to manipulate the public procurement of protective masks, disinfectants and other medical supplies for hospitals, schools and other municipal state facilities, in order to benefit predetermined suppliers, which are understood to have been part of the scheme. A total of 29 projects were granted to representatives of the companies that were members of the criminal group, which used two consultancy companies – also charged – to draft the applications and eliminate the competition. By controlling the preparation of the documents for the projects, the consulting companies were able to structure funding applications in a way that allowed procurements to be set at the maximum amounts permitted by the managing authority, thereby limiting genuine competition and facilitating the misuse of public funds. It is further alleged that the consulting firms also used false or inaccurate documents. The supply of the medical equipment was funded by the programme Recovery assistance for cohesion and the territories of Europe (REACT-EU). It is estimated that the criminal activities for which the suspects were charged caused a damage of over €9 million to the EU budget. Slovenia: EPPO conducts searches in investigation into solar power plant subsidy fraud (Luxembourg, 26 March 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Ljubljana (Slovenia) is leading an investigation into an attempted fraud involving EU funds for solar power plants, with house searches carried out this week by the Police Directorate Celje (Policijska uprava Celje). The investigation initially concerned irregularities in a public tender for the co-financing of small solar power plants, financed by the European Cohesion Fund. During checks of a payment request amounting to €215 265.37, it was established that the applicant company had allegedly placed binding orders for equipment before submitting its application, in breach of the tender conditions. As additional documents raised doubts as to their authenticity, no funds were disbursed in this case. Further investigative measures revealed that, between September 2022 and January 2023, the same company submitted five applications under the same scheme for installations at different locations, all on the rooftops of a supermarket chain. According to the investigation, the company falsely declared that the solar panels would be supplied by a third-party company, while in reality the equipment was provided by the applicant itself. This constitutes a further breach of the tender rules, which required that equipment be supplied and installed by independent third parties under market conditions. Based on four of these applications, the company received payments totalling €955 275.90.   more

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