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22/09/2026   European Public Prosecutor's Office News

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Investigation ‘Escape Room’: EPPO arrests another suspect and seizes €3.5 million (Luxembourg, 22 September 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), another suspect was arrested in connection with an investigation into criminal networks operating cross-border VAT fraud schemes linked to the sales of electronic devices, code-named ‘Escape Room’. Assets worth €3.5 million were also seized. This arrest follows the detention of eight suspects in Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland in October 2025. The suspect is believed to have been a member of the criminal organisations under investigation. He allegedly acted as a broker in the VAT carousel scheme, serving as an intermediary between companies in the chain and claiming VAT refunds to which he was not entitled from the tax administration. Based on the evidence, after the investigative measures in October 2025, he initially continued his activities through a buffer company (an intermediary company used to facilitate the fraudulent VAT scheme), before transferring his activities to a newly established company. The individual is suspected of having used criminal proceeds to establish this new company, allowing the scheme to continue. He was taken in for questioning on 16 September 2026 and will remain in pre-trail detention. The suspect’s conduct alone may have caused damage of around €4 million to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the EU through unpaid VAT and the improper claiming of VAT refunds. At the request of the EPPO, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) carried out searches at the suspect’s home and three business premises in Capelle aan den IJssel, near Rotterdam. Physical and digital evidence was seized. Real estate, a car, stock, receivables and bank accounts were also seized, worth an estimated value of 3.5 million euro.   more

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