There Financial Police discovered a scam in the sale of tires online, which led to the execution of 5 personal precautionary measures and the seizure of approximately 40 million euros, as well as the blocking of websites. This action was taken at the direction of the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Turin, due to VAT fraud related to online tire trade.
The soldiers of the Provincial Commands of the Guardia di Finanza of Foggia and Genoatogether with Special Unit for Privacy Protection and Technological Fraud, are implementing an order issued by the Judge for preliminary investigations at the Court of Foggia. The precautionary measures concern 5 people and a cooperative company based in Foggia, accused of criminal association and tax fraud, with the company also investigated for administrative liability according to articles 5 and 25-quinquies of Legislative Decree 231/200. The seizure amounts to approximately 40 million euros.
Tires online, best site with lowest prices
The tires sold online at very low and advantageous prices for the user, almost below cost, have repeatedly raised doubts about the origin of these tyres. Following reports, the Finance Police launched an investigation which led to the identification and closure of online sites that sold tires at prices on average 20% lower. The investigation started from the complaint of some citizens who, after having purchased tires online at prices significantly lower than those from online retailers or tire dealers, suspected tax fraud (VAT evasion) after having received a invoice from Canary Islands without VAT charge.
After the complaint, the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Foggia and Genoa launched an investigation which revealed a turnover of approximately 180 million euros and VAT fraud of approximately €40 million, dating back to at least 2017.
Tires online, low prices = tax evasion
As part of the tax investigation, the Guardia di Finanza blocked these e-commerce sites that were charging very low prices following tax evasion:
- gommeplanet.it
- tiresjohnpitstop.shop
- ilsitodellegomme.it
- pneuzilla.com
- specialgomme.it
- specialgomme.com
According to the analyzes conducted and the advice of expert tire specialists and operators in the sector, the sites in question appear to be associated with the same one Canary Islands VAT number: B02876001.
Tires online, how they evaded taxes and VAT
The investigations coordinated by the European Prosecutor's Office arose from two reports presented to the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Foggia and Genoa, involving seven companies formally located in Spain, Romania, Estonia, Hungary and Bulgaria. These companies, managed from Italy through a cooperative a Orta Nova (FG), orchestrated a large online tire sales business. Investigations reveal that the Foggia cooperative managed all the activities of the EU companies involved in the sale and physically managed the supply of tires to Italian consumers.
The online fraud system included the creation of fictitious companies in the Canary Islands, to which web platforms for the sale of tires were formally associated. Italian users ordered through these sites, and screen companies in other EU countries communicated the order and destination to the actual tire suppliers. The goods were shipped directly from the supplier to the Italian consumer, without going through the intervening companies, which issued invoices without VAT.
Investigated
The suspects are the thirty-year-old Vincenzo Maffione, arrested by Dubai Police at his home, who described himself as “a brain on the run”, and a thirty-three-year-old AIRE citizen, also placed in custody in prison. Instead, a 33-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man are under house arrest, the latter with residence abroad. Finally, the residence obligation was imposed on a sixty-year-old from Orto Nova, who is the legal representative of the cooperative society.
How much they evaded
The organization has generated a turnover of around 180 million euros since 2017, avoiding VAT in various EU countries and causing an estimated damage of 39,462,526 euros. In response, the European Public Prosecutor's Office obtained personal precautionary measures for 5 suspects, with 2 in custody, 2 under house arrest and 1 with a stay-at-home order. Funding and assets equivalent to the amount of the fraud were seized and the seven websites used for e-commerce were blocked. The execution of the measures was coordinated in 10 EU states and 5 non-EU states by the Turin Office of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, with the collaboration of the judicial authorities of the countries involved.
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