Romania has become an extremely attractive country for organized crime and perpetrators of VAT fraud. The country today represents "fertile territory" for the Italian and Chinese mafia, warns the European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi, former Chief Prosecutor of Romania and head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, reports News.bg.
In an interview with the newspaper „Libertatea“, quoted by BTA, Kövesi emphasizes that Romania suffers from the largest deficit in VAT collection in the EU. „Over 90% of these cases are due to fraud. Unfortunately, the level of reporting and investigation of these crimes, at least to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, is extremely low“, she said.
In 2023, the European Public Prosecutor's Office investigated nearly 400 cases related to Romania. However, only 12 of them were related to VAT fraud, the rest were initiated in other countries, but revealed traces leading to Romania.
“We had talks with the Ministry of Finance and the National Revenue Agency, to which we pointed out these shortcomings. We hope for improvement. "You cannot claim that everything is fine in the country when we see fictitious companies, fictitious imports and suspicious transactions related to Romania in cases conducted in other countries," explained Kovesi.
She gave the example of the "Calypso" investigation, which uncovered a criminal network illegally importing goods from China to the European Union, avoiding the payment of customs duties and VAT. The damage is estimated at over 700 million euros, and the case covers 14 countries.
In another large-scale investigation, "Moby Dick," a criminal group was uncovered that defrauded the state of over 520 million euros through VAT schemes. The group operated with mafia methods and maintained close ties with the Italian Camorra. Over 195 people have been investigated in the case.
“Romania is no longer just a territory, but a resource for the Italian and Chinese mafia. We are increasingly seeing organizations from third countries establishing themselves and expanding in the EU“, the chief prosecutor warned.
According to Kövesi, VAT fraud is more profitable than human trafficking and drug trafficking. Criminal networks have enormous financial resources that allow them to hire experts and exploit weaknesses in the legislation of each individual member state.
As an illustration of non-standard signals received from citizens, she also told about a curious case: a Romanian woman contacted the European Public Prosecutor's Office with a request to investigate King Charles III because, in her words, he promised her marriage but did not keep his promise.
“Of course, we are not competent for such signals. But we receive hundreds of complaints from citizens. "This shows that people have confidence in us," concluded Kövesi.