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View of Coimbra: The first traces of the network were discovered here
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According to their own statements, EU authorities have uncovered complex international tax fraud worth an estimated 2.2 billion euros.
According to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (Eppo) in Luxembourg, "probably the largest VAT fraud ever identified in the EU" involved hundreds of people in 26 of the 27 member states.
The system was "based on the sale of popular electronic goods."
Devices were sold online and at the same time VAT refunds were requested from the national authorities.
There were more than 200 searches in 14 countries - Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain on Tuesday.
In mid-October there had already been searches in six countries, including the Czech Republic and Sweden.
The network is said to have reached as far as Albania, China, Singapore, Mauritius, Serbia, Turkey and Switzerland as well as the United Arab Emirates and the USA.
The Eppo, which comprises 22 of the 27 EU Member States, is responsible for fraud cases affecting the Union's budget.
She started the investigation a year and a half ago after Portuguese authorities contacted her.
It was about a company in the Portuguese city of Coimbra that sold cell phones and other electronic devices and was suspected of VAT fraud.
Eppo, Europol and national authorities reportedly encountered a widespread fraud system involving around 9,000 companies.
This chain included companies that acted as suppliers of electronics - and others that sold those devices online while claiming VAT refunds from national authorities before sending that revenue abroad and disappearing.
In addition to unjustified refunds, VAT evasion by retailers on online platforms such as Amazon or Ebay is also a widespread phenomenon.
In the meantime, however, the liability of the platform operators has been tightened.
dab/dpa/AFP
