EUR 43 million luxury car import fraud unmasked by the Guardia di Finanza
A criminal association evaded VAT on the import of German luxury cars into Italy, involving foreign shell companies and multi-brand dealers.
A fraud quantified at EUR 43 million was discovered by the Prato Finance Police: at the centre of the investigation was an alleged criminal association dedicated to the sale of luxury cars of German origin. As explained, the vehicles were registered in Italy without paying VAT.
Under the coordination of the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Bologna, the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian Finance Police, enforced the orders issued by the courts of Ferrara and Trani: real precautionary measures were ordered on the share capital of 8 companies, 7 plots of land, 3 residential properties, a car dealer, 41 cars including Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche with a total market value of approximately 3.5 million euro, and on more than 50 bank accounts with total liquid assets, at the moment, of more than 1.2 million. Searches were also conducted in homes, businesses and other properties in the possession of the suspects.
The investigation, it is explained in a note, was triggered by a complaint lodged by a buyer who complained of difficulties in finalising the registration of a second-hand car bought through a multi-brand dealer from a German seller. It then emerged 'the existence of a highly organised system of collecting purchase orders through compliant multi-brand dealerships, the identification of target vehicles with large German second-hand dealers, and the definition of import practices such as to allow the vehicles to be registered in Italy without paying VAT, using the interposition of foreign shell companies, registered in the name of nominees and false invoicing flows.
In addition, in order to make it even more difficult to trace the evasion scheme back to the dealerships involved, the suspects also set up schemes to periodically cease and reopen the VAT accounts used for the purchase of the vehicles, without however changing the location of the showrooms and the commercial sign used, in order to continue to benefit from the commercial visibility acquired over time'. The execution of seizures and searches had the support of the Fiamme gialle of Ferrara, Bologna, Andria, Trani, Molfetta and Crotone..
