Czech police crack down on fictitious exporters
Three men accused of running a VAT scam; face 10 years in jail
Prague, Dec 12 (ČTK) — The Czech Police have accused three men over tax evasion worth 261 million Kč caused by fictitious exports of tools and design services to the US, anti-corruption police spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej told the Czech News Agency today.
The case was uncovered and monitored by Kobra, the police’s special team dealing with big corruption cases.
The suspects, aged from 36 to 49, face up to 10 years in prison, if found guilty of tax evasion. Only one of them has been taken into custody, Ibehej said.
One of the suspects works as a defense lawyer.
The police investigate the activities which the suspects pursued from September 2009 until the end of 2012.
The three men agreed to start fictitious trade, for which they established several domestic and foreign companies, in which they held the posts of statutory representatives.
“After VAT was returned to them, they always immediately drew the money from their bank accounts, thereby causing the damage of over 261 million Kč. [The police] prevented the payment of another 17 million to them,” Ibehej said.
The police cracked down on the three men on Dec. 2. The investigation continues.
The Kobra team is comprised of policemen, customs offers and financial administration specialists. In operation since mid-2014, it focuses on the fight against huge tax evasion.
Apart from the above case, the team has uncovered tax evasion in nano discs trade (269 million Kč), the advertisement branch (289 million Kč), fuel trade (650 million Kč) and fictitious exports of cigarettes to Slovakia, Hungary and Poland (253 million Kč).
