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29/09/2026   European Public Prosecutor's Office News

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Investigation Troja: EPPO uncovers criminal organisation suspected of having sold over one million used mobile phones as if they were new Over 160 searches and seizures in 19 countries and seven arrests including leaders of criminal organisation (Luxembourg, 29 September 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne (Germany) has been conducting searches and arrests since last Saturday against a criminal organisation suspected of having sold over one million mobile phones as if they were new, while in reality they were used. The criminal scheme caused an estimated damage of at least €300 million to EU consumers and a VAT loss of over €30 million to several EU Member States. 1770 police, tax and customs officers carried out over 160 searches and seizures in 19 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands), and a witness was heard in the UK. Seven suspects were arrested in Austria, Germany and Spain, including the two leaders of the organisation. According to the investigation, code-named ‘Troja’, a criminal organisation allegedly assembled mobile phones from used components in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates and then shipped them, cleaned and packaged as new mobile phones, to the Netherlands. Afterwards, they were transported to warehouses in Germany and sold on online marketplaces to end customers all over the EU. The evidence further suggests that shell companies, based in several EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands) and Switzerland, fraudulently applied a reduced VAT scheme to the online sale of the mobile phones since 2018, to illicitly increase their profits. It is understood that these fraudulent mobile phones have been sold under the so-called ‘margin taxation’ scheme to end customers and between the shell companies. This taxation scheme, under which the reseller only has to pay VAT on the profit margin they make (the difference between the price paid for the item and the price for which it is sold), is applicable only to resold goods on which VAT had been paid already. However, having been sold as new goods, the VAT was due on the full price of the item. The scheme allegedly misled customers all around the EU, it also created a VAT damage in every country where these used mobile phones were sold as if they were new.   more   Investigation ‘Escape Room’: First indictment in Poland against two individuals for VAT fraud and money laundering In Polish below / Po polsku poniżej (Luxembourg, 29 September 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Katowice (Poland) has filed an indictment at the Circuit Court in Katowice against two Polish nationals accused of participating in an organised crime group involved in cross-border VAT fraud and money laundering. This is the first indictment in investigation 'Escape Room', which targets a cross-border VAT fraud network operating across Austria, Belgium, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland, linked to the trade in electronic devices. One of the accused was arrested in Poland in October 2025 during coordinated investigative measures carried out in October 2025. The other defendant was subsequently arrested in Czechia and surrendered to Polish authorities in March 2026. Based on the evidence, the network used hundreds of shell companies and fictitious invoices to conceal transactions and evade VAT, while also fraudulently claiming VAT reimbursements to which it was not entitled. In Poland, the total amount of the invoices used by the accused persons in the criminal scheme exceeds €100 million (PLN 400 million). The estimated damage caused by the criminal ring includes €47 million in unpaid VAT in Belgium and €22 million in the Netherlands. Last week, another suspect was also arrested in the Netherlands. If found guilty, the defendants face between seven years and six months and 25 years of imprisonment.   more   Śledztwo „Escape Room”: pierwszy akt oskarżenia w Polsce przeciwko dwóm osobom w związku z oszustwami związanymi z VAT i praniem pieniędzy (Luksemburg, 29 września 2026 r.) – Prokuratura Europejska (EPPO) w Katowicach (Polska) skierowała do Sądu Okręgowego w Katowicach akt oskarżenia przeciwko dwóm obywatelom Polski podejrzanym o udział w zorganizowanej grupie przestępczej zajmującej się transgranicznymi oszustwami związanymi z VAT i praniem pieniędzy. Jest to pierwszy akt oskarżenia w ramach śledztwa „Escape Room”, dotyczącego transgranicznej sieci zajmującej się oszustwami związanymi z VAT, działającej w Austrii, Belgii, Niemczech, na Łotwie, w Niderlandach i w Polsce, powiązanej z handlem urządzeniami elektronicznymi. Jeden z oskarżonych został zatrzymany w Polsce w październiku 2025 r. podczas skoordynowanych czynności śledczych przeprowadzonych w tym samym miesiącu. Drugi oskarżony został następnie zatrzymany w Czechach i przekazany polskim organom w marcu 2026 r. Zgromadzony materiał dowodowy wskazuje, że sieć wykorzystywała setki spółek fasadowych i fikcyjne faktury w celu ukrywania transakcji i uchylania się od zapłaty VAT, a także bezprawnego ubiegania się o zwroty VAT, do których nie była uprawniona. W Polsce łączna wartość faktur wykorzystanych przez oskarżonych w ramach przestępczego procederu przekracza 100 mln euro (400 mln zł). Szacowana wysokość szkody wyrządzonej przez grupę przestępczą obejmuje 47 mln euro niezapłaconego VAT w Belgii oraz 22 mln euro w Niderlandach. W ubiegłym tygodniu w Niderlandach zatrzymano również kolejną osobę podejrzaną. W przypadku uznania ich za winnych grozi im kara pozbawienia wolności od 7 lat i 6 miesięcy do 25 lat.   more   Investigation Admiral 2.0: Five individuals convicted of €1.13 million tax evasion (Luxembourg, 29 September 2026) – Five individuals have been convicted of tax evasion committed in an organised group by the Riga City Court (Latvia), following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Riga. These are the most recent convictions in the Admiral 2.0 case, which stems from our Admiral flagship investigation and targets large-scale organised tax evasion and money laundering. Previously, three individuals had also been convicted in Latvia, following plea. The conduct of the individuals now convicted have caused damage to the state budgets of France and Germany amounting to €1.13 million. The court approved the plea agreements reached with the accused, covering their admissions of guilt and the proposed sentences. The five individuals were fined a total of €429 000 and sentenced to probation supervision for periods ranging from three to five years, as well as being banned from engaging in any commercial activity for up to three years. The Admiral 2.0 investigation concerns a criminal syndicate that was using the same modus operandi, and partly also the same organisation and infrastructure, as the perpetrators investigated under Admiral, to carry out a massive 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. Investigation Admiral 2.0. is ongoing. The EPPO suspects over 400 companies to be part of this complex fraudulent scheme, which is also believed to have been used for laundering proceeds stemming from drug trafficking, different types of cybercrime, and investment fraud.   more   European Public Prosecutor's Office - 11 Avenue John F. 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