EU prosecutors say VAT fraud network dismantled in Greece

On 14 July 2026, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said it had dismantled a tax fraud network that caused budget losses of at least 46.9 million euros, or $53 million, in Greece and other countries.

The EU prosecutors' office said searches and seizures were carried out last week in the Athens area and in the northern Greek city of Kastoria. It said the investigation concerned alleged fraud involving Value Added Tax payments in the trade of small electronic goods and the laundering of criminal proceeds.

According to the office, the investigation began almost one year ago and uncovered what it described as a complex network of companies in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia and Greece. The companies were allegedly used to trade small electronic goods across the European Union.

The prosecutors' office said the scheme exploited a VAT exemption for cross-border transactions between EU member states. It said that between 2021 and 2025, suspects allegedly distributed electronic goods in Greece and other EU countries while avoiding VAT payments or enabling fraudulent VAT reimbursements for tax that had never been paid.

In addition to the estimated losses of at least 46.9 million euros to the EU and Greece, the office said there were indications that a further 24.2 million euros in VAT was either unpaid or incorrectly declared.

The same EU prosecutors' office is separately investigating alleged embezzlement of millions of euros in EU agricultural subsidies in Greece. Dozens of people have been arrested in that case, and the scandal has led to the resignation of several Greek government ministers.