The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), led by Laura Kovesi, is investigating an alleged cross-border VAT fraud scheme that is estimated to have caused losses of at least 46.9 million euros to the budgets of Greece and the European Union.
As part of the investigation, authorities carried out searches at homes and business premises in Athens linked to companies suspected of participating in the operation. The probe covers activities between 2021 and 2025.
According to investigators, the suspected network involved companies operating in Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and the Czech Republic that traded small electronic devices across EU borders.
The case centers on a so-called VAT carousel, or chain fraud, one of the most sophisticated forms of tax fraud within the European Union. The scheme allegedly exploited VAT exemptions that apply to cross-border trade between EU member states by repeatedly selling the same goods through interconnected companies in different countries.
Investigators said the operation also relied on so-called “missing traders,” companies that collect VAT from customers but fail to transfer the money to tax authorities before shutting down or disappearing. In some cases, fraudulent claims were allegedly submitted to recover VAT that had never actually been paid.
