The FIOD raid at a PostNL collection point in Breda last month was related to an investigation into tax fraud and fraud. The FIOD announced this on Thursday morning. A building in Tilburg was also searched in the investigation.
Several arrests and searches were carried out on Tuesday, May 26. Two men (36 and 27) and two women (42 and 56) from Spijkenisse, Almere, Breda and Leeuwarden have been arrested.
The state is said to have lost approximately 1.25 million euros due to the practices of the four suspects. In addition to tax fraud, the 36-year-old man and 42-year-old woman from Tilburg are suspected of fraud.
The 36-year-old man and the 42-year-old woman allegedly worked together as a buyer and seller to defraud an online platform. The platform reported this, after which the matter was investigated by the FIOD.
Free again
All suspects have now been released, but remain suspects in the ongoing investigations.
Their homes and five business premises in Capelle aan den IJssel, Tilburg, Breda and Almere have been searched. “Almost 500,000 euros in cash, electronics, a car, gift vouchers, data carriers and physical and digital administration were seized,” the FIOD reports.
‘Loggers’
The FIOD tracked down the men and women because the Tax Authorities suspected that they were involved in VAT fraud. That would have happened with the purchase and sale of consumer electronics. Companies that do this are also called ‘ploppers’.
Missing companies are companies that charge VAT to their customers in the country where they are established, but consciously do not pay VAT.
“Dutch companies purchased products within the European Union, and these products were mainly sold to companies related to the 36-year-old man,” the FIOD writes.