The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has arrested another suspect in its “Escape Room” investigation into a cross-border VAT carousel fraud network operating across six EU countries.
The wider network allegedly used hundreds of shell companies and fictitious invoices to conceal transactions involving electronic devices and evade VAT in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland. EPPO estimates the scheme caused at least $79 million in losses in the Netherlands and Belgium. Eight other suspects were arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland in October 2025.
Prosecutors allege the arrested man acted as a broker between companies in the scheme, improperly claimed VAT refunds and continued the operation through new companies after authorities raided the network in 2025. His activities alone may have caused about $4.6 million in losses, while authorities seized around $4 million in real estate, a car, stock, receivables and bank accounts.
