Precautionary measures were ordered against four suspects, including house arrest and bans from business activities, due to their roles in the fraud.

The investigation was initiated by routine economic monitoring by Guardia di Finanza, which detected suspiciously low prices for high-tech products and uncovered the complex supply chain.

The fraud involved selling laptops, smartphones, and PCs at abnormally low prices, raising suspicions of money laundering and unfair market practices.

Over two years, EPPO coordinated preventive searches and seizures in Rome, Brescia, and Bolzano, with the latter being the final destination of the stolen goods.

Italian Financial Police targeted assets in Rome and Brescia, seizing bank accounts, vehicles, cash, and luxury items as part of the crackdown.

The Court of Rome seized assets worth over €17.7 million, including bank accounts, credit cards, cash, and luxury watches, to confiscate proceeds from the fraud.

This investigation highlights ongoing efforts within the EU to combat cross-border VAT fraud and uphold fair market practices.

Authorities conducted searches and confiscated assets including bank accounts, credit cards, cash, vehicles, and luxury watches to recover illicit proceeds.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) uncovered a €7.7 million VAT fraud in Italy involving electronic devices, orchestrated through a complex network of shell companies since 2017.

The scheme utilized a series of intermediary companies that bought electronics from EU suppliers and resold them to Italian retailers at low prices using false invoices, effectively evading taxes.

This widespread criminal operation manipulated the electronic goods market across Italy and other EU countries, employing false invoices, missing traders, and buffer companies.

Several individuals involved in the scheme faced legal measures, with the de facto manager placed under house arrest and others barred from managing businesses.