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Lithuanian man alleged to be the Leader of a Criminal Organization That was dedicated to Importing Wrecked Cars That Been Destroyed in the USA and Which, After Undergoing Cosmetic Repairs, Were Resolution in Europe, Was Arrested in Madeira, The European Public Prosecutor’s Office Reported Today.
Source from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) Told Lusa That the Arrest in Madeira of the Lithuanian Citizen, Alleged Leader of the Scheme That Defrauded The States of Millions of euros in Customs Fees and Taxes (Vat) was carried out by the gnr, THROUGH the tax action unit, Which in Portugal Acompanied the Investigation That Involved 18 European Prosecutors.
According to the EPPO, The Investigation Was Led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Berlin (Germany) and Vilnius (Lithuania), and Involved 1,000 Offices from the Police and Tax and Customs Authorories, Who Carried Out 200 Searches in 10 Countries.
The Investigation Focused On A Criminal Organization That Imported Cars That Were Savedable For Scrap by North American Insurance Companies and Which Were Then Imported, Through A Fraudulent Scheme, from the United States to Europe, from Where They Were resolved only cosmetic repairs, in a Criminal Scheme That Also Representals “Serious Dangers to Road Safety”.
Codenamed “Nimmersatt” (Insatiable in German), It Stretches from the us to Russia, with links to Canada, Hungary, Ireland and the UK, as well as 11 I Counties in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office Zone.
The Eppo Said that Investigative Measures Were Caried Out all and on Tuesday in Portugal, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Romania and Spain, Leading to the Arrest of 10 Suscts, Including One of the Alleged Leaders – The Lithuanian Detained Intained Wood.
These Vehicles That Had Crashed in the US, Explains The Eppo, Were Sold at Auctions or Dismantled for Scrap and the Group Bought “Huge quantities what they are to the European Union” Using a networking of fictitious Companies and false invoices to cover the original of the original of The Origin of the Cars, Which Arrived in the Eu with Their Commercial History Obscred.
The Cars Arrived at Different Ports, Including Antwerp (Belgium), Bremerhaven (Germany), Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), The Eppo Said, Adding That “In Order to Evade a Substantial Part of the Customs Duties, The Offers Gifted False Invoices to The Authorories, Declaaring A Value Much Lower Than What they have paid for the Vehicles.
The Cars Were Then Transported Overland to Lithuania for Repairs in Workshops, But Based On The Investigation, The Repairs Were Only Surface, To Allow Them To Look Like New and Pass the Required Technical Certification Procedures.
They are then Sold to End Customers in Germany and Other I Countries, Gifted AS Having Never Been in An Accident or As Being Fully Repaired, Even When they have Hidden Damage – Including Missing Airbags or other serious safety issues. The Less Valuable One Are Sold to Eastern European Markets.
In Germany, According to the Investigation, The Vehicles Are Sold by Car Dealerships That Are Part of the Criminal Organization, Which Fraudulently Apply Reduced Vat Under the So-Called “Margin Taxation”, Provision That Allows Dealers to Pay Vat On the Profit Margin When Selling Second-Hand Goods Purchased from Private Individuals.
The Eppo Suscts That in Lithuania The Group’s Members Used Lithuanian Companies to “Launder” Profits from Vat Fraud and Cash Payments From Car Buyers.
The Investigation Found That the Lithuanian Cell of the Group, Created in 2020 and Headed by the Man Arrested in Madeira, Used Companies In Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands and Romania “To Hide the True Volume of Business.”
In Lithuania Alone, at Least 16,500 Cars Were Sold, Worth 144 Million euros.
The Suscted Fraud Also Allowed the Destroyed Cars To Be Sold at Lower Market Price, Also Causing Unfair Competition.
The Investigation Revealed an “Extremély Complex Criminal Scheme” with ramifications in 18 Countries, Targeting Key Members of the Criminal Organization from Russia and Lithuania, as well as suspects responsive for Importing and Transporting the Vehicles and Dozens of Car Dealerships.
The Losses Caused by these Criminal Activities, Which Are Still Being Assessed, are esteented at Least 31 Million euros.
Freezing Orders Were Granted for 26.5 Million euros, Through Bank Accounts, and 116 Cars (Approximately 2.3 Million euros), Half A Million euros in cash and luxury items, as well As Real Estate, Land and Company Shares, Worth 5.1 Million euros, Have Been Seized So Far.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is the Independent Public Prosecutor’s Office of the European Union Responsible for Investigating, Prosecuting and Bringing to Trial Crimes Against The Eu’s Financial Interests.
