EU prosecutors target Camorra, Cosa Nostra in half-billion-euro fraud investigation – POLITICO

In Italy alone, prosecutors froze 129 bank accounts and seized 192 real estate properties, as well as 44 luxury cars and boats, according to the EPPO. expression in question.

The accused criminals issued invoices worth more than €1.3 billion to trade goods through a fraud ring in which companies would claim refunds from national tax authorities under a scheme known as the “VAT Carousel fraud”.

according to EPPOEurope loses around €50 billion a year to such financial crimes, which funnels money into other criminal activities. By comparison, the value of the bloc’s illicit drug trade is around €30 billion annually. EU Drugs Agency.

“’Moby Dick’ is a decisive investigation for the EPPO,” said Chief Public Prosecutor Laura Kövesi. “It has been a long time since we started sounding the alarm about the massive involvement of dangerous organized crime groups in fraud against the EU budget. Beyond the enormous damage they cause, we warn about the threat their activities in this field pose to our internal security. “We are now shedding light on the first case of such a magnitude.”

Tasked with investigating serious financial crimes against the interests of the EU, the EPPO has repeatedly targeted criminal organizations running these schemes for three years to prevent their expansion.

Prosecutors said a freezing order worth more than €520 million was imposed to compensate for the damage caused to EU and national budgets.

“Moby Dick” shows that there are no two separate criminal worlds,” Kövesi added. “On one side is the world of really bad and dangerous criminals who are smuggling drugs, smuggling people; on the other, the world of white-collar criminals who ‘just’ corrupt and launder money.”