Crazy criminal activity
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is examining an alleged criminal scheme involving vehicle purchases and sales managed through instrumental companies and fronts. The aim, according to authorities, was to secure a substantial profit margin for numerous Spanish dealership owners while allegedly complying with regulations. A report from the Unified Economic and Financial Data Unit (UDEF) and the Civil Guard accompanies the preliminary proceedings, which were initiated by the Public Ministry. The documents, reviewed by this outlet, reveal that high-end vehicles were moved through Germany with several units valued up to 200,000 euros by Portuguese entities. These cars were intended to be registered in Spain, yet never reached their stated destinations.
In this context, the existing tax probe points to “crazy criminal activities” designed to evade paying millions of euros in VAT within three years, describing the operation as a fraudulent carousel of operations. This scheme reportedly relied on a network of front entities and misrepresented transactions to mask the true flow of goods and value.
El Periódico de España, part of the Prensa Ibérica group, notes that the investigation could lead to formal charges and already identifies at least 50 individuals involved in the alleged fraud. The scheme concerns the purchase and sale of more than 1,900 vehicles, with a combined value of at least 74 million euros between 2019 and 2021. The figures cited in the documents are described as a lower bound rather than an upper limit.
The case originated from the Granada Prosecutor’s Office and was later transferred to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office because it involves intra-community tax issues. In Spain, the Economic and Financial Crimes Unit (UDEF) of the National Police and the Civil Guard prepared a report within the investigation led by the prosecutor’s office. The proceedings are currently at the stage where investigators may begin testimonies and witness statements. If indicators of criminal activity are confirmed, the matter could proceed to the National Court for further action.
At present, the final tally of defendants in Spain has not been determined. Dozens of individuals across autonomous communities such as Navarra, Andalusia, Madrid, La Rioja, and Catalonia are implicated. The Spanish public prosecutor’s office noted in proceedings last October that the events could amount to offenses against the public treasury, participation in a criminal organization, and money laundering.
Crazy criminal activity
The organizers allegedly recruited front men, referred to in police jargon as “trout” in Germany. They moved high-end vehicles valued between 50,000 and 200,000 euros, then staged fictitious sales to third parties in Portugal. Ultimately the cars were sold through Spanish dealerships, with the investigation seeking to determine which car owners were aware of the scheme. The vehicles never traversed Portuguese soil, though they carried permission if stopped during a supposed passage through Spain.
The investigation has labeled this operation a “carousel scam with far-fetched trout.” The aim was to confuse the tax authorities, complicating VAT payments on the sale of these vehicles and concealing the true economic flow behind the transactions.
“There is no doubt about the existence of this claim. The operation appears perfectly organized and driven by a specific network that leverages instrumentalized commercial structures to generate substantial benefits at both the purchase and distribution stages,” notes the joint UDEF and Civil Guard report presented at the end of 2021.
‘Truchas’ to buy cars
According to the investigative document that underpins the European Public Prosecutor’s Office inquiry, investigators began work in March 2021 and observed the “dynamism and ease” with which the conspiracy adapted to overwhelm administrative controls and evade detection. At the time, the number of vehicles was described as significant; that figure has since grown substantially due to increasingly aggressive operations by the network.
Documents reviewed by El Periódico de España outline how German suppliers participated, with some entities allegedly colluding with the network. Portuguese companies were said to be