A German court has convicted three more people linked to a major VAT fraud network accused of hiding more than €50 million in tax losses through a cross-border scheme
involving luxury cars and medical face masks.
The convictions were secured by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) after the Regional Court of Berlin found the defendants guilty of organised VAT fraud, money laundering, document forgery and assisting tax fraud.
One of the three was also convicted of fraudulently obtaining German Covid support loans through companies connected to the criminal group.
The court ruling on 10 July is the latest stage in a wider investigation into a criminal network that allegedly operated between 2019 and 2024 using companies across Germany, Czechia and Poland.
Investigators said the group used shell companies, fake business structures and so-called “missing traders” to conceal transactions, avoid VAT payments and claim illegal tax refunds on goods traded across EU borders.
The latest convictions concern members of the second level of the organisation, including a tax adviser accused of helping manage the scheme. In an earlier ruling in June 2024, five other people were convicted, including the alleged leaders of the network.
Two suspects initially escaped after police operations began. One was later arrested in Croatia in July 2025 following a European Arrest Warrant, while another eventually turned himself in to authorities.
During the investigation, authorities seized assets worth around €1.5 million, including property, bank accounts, cash and luxury watches located in Germany, Croatia and Spain.
The three defendants received prison sentences ranging from four years and 10 months to seven years and four months. The sentences can still be appealed.
The Berlin court also ordered the confiscation of more than €9 million in criminal proceeds from the convicted individuals and imposed a confiscation order on a German company that benefited from the fraud.
The investigation was carried out by German tax investigators in Berlin and Brandenburg, along with the Berlin State Police.
The EPPO, which operates as the European Union’s independent prosecution service, investigates crimes affecting the EU budget, including large-scale fraud involving EU funds and cross-border tax offences. Photo by Alf van Beem, Wikimedia commons.