Huge tax fraud revealed

A large-scale tax fraud has been revealed in Lower Austria. The customs investigation discovered that a 55-year-old man sold adulterated diesel in East European countries. He is believed to have earned millions of Euros.

The Ministry of Finance confirmed the facts to the Austrian Press Agency yesterday evening (Tues). The damage caused by avoided tax is believed to be at least 18.6 million Euros.

The man from the South of Lower Austria is suspected of adulterating diesel with oils of inferior quality and selling it in Eastern European countries. According to the newspaper “Kurier”, the fraud was revealed when a financial auditing resulted in inconsistencies.

The investigators examined the network of the suspect in Lower Austria, Carinthia and Germany. In a house search they secured documents both on paper and in electronic form as well as 460,000 litres of diesel, 162,000 litres of different oils and 73,000 Euros in cash.

The man is believed to have sold 80 million litres of adulterated diesel last year without paying tax on oil or VAT. Insolvency proceedings of the company in Lower Austria have been started and the public prosecutor’s office is investigating eleven people.

The report also states that the 55-year-old man saved the Austrian car registration tax (NoVA) for an expensive limousine without justification. A German number plate was mounted on the car.