LISBON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) launched one of its largest operations in Portugal on Wednesday, with 250 search and seizure actions carried out simultaneously across the country and more than 20 arrest warrants executed.
The operation, targeting suspected fraud involving EU funds including Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan, mobilized approximately 700 Judicial Police officers and 300 inspectors, was primarily in the northern region around Porto, with ramifications extending to the Greater Lisbon area.
The suspected losses to the Portuguese state exceed 100 million euros (112 million U.S. dollars), according to local media agencies.
Two separate inquiries are at the center of the operation, both involving VAT carousel fraud schemes in which thousands of mobile phone handsets were traded in simulated cross-border transactions between EU companies, some of them shell companies created solely for the purpose, enabling perpetrators to either avoid paying VAT or fraudulently claim VAT refunds.
Suspects faced charges of criminal association, tax fraud, money laundering, corruption and misappropriation of subsidies. Detainees would be brought before the Porto Criminal Investigation Court, according to the reports.
The operation also involved simultaneous searches and arrests in other EU member states whose public finances were allegedly defrauded. ■
