Fake invoices for 25 million, issued by a “shell” company registered to a front man who, with the open and close system, had the sole purpose of making the money disappear and avoiding paying taxes.

The blow to a complex fraud system set up by Chinese entrepreneurs was carried out by the Guardia di Finanza of Oristano, who worked under the direction of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Sassari.

Here, in the city of Turritana, was the headquarters of the ghost company that allowed the evasion of 4.8 million in VAT.

The investigations, still ongoing, have focused on identifying and reconstructing the financial flows related to the company's commercial operations: it emerged that in four years, from the opening of the VAT number, registered to a front man of Chinese origin, it invoiced sales for millions of euros in favor of other companies scattered throughout the country, mostly Chinese, collected the proceeds of the invoices issued and systematically transferred the money - through bank transfers mainly to the East - to make it vanish into thin air. Shortly thereafter, the "life cycle" ended in time to be able to avoid tax controls that would have revealed the inconsistencies between the invoices issued and the total absence of tax returns.

At the same time, the existence of a network of companies emerged, all traceable to the same owner, always Chinese, who with the same system (open and close) succeeded one another in the exercise of the same commercial activity, to omit to declare 2.6 million in revenues, with the evasion of half a million euros of VAT. The sectors of activity were: retail sales of household goods, clothing and DIY, in the supply of food and beverages, catering and telephony. The owners of the companies were found to be penniless while the real "dominus" and his relatives were hired as employees.

In Sassari, Milan and Rome, numerous searches were carried out, including company offices and the homes of the suspects. The hypotheses of the crime are: issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, failure to declare, concealment/destruction of accounting documents, fraudulent evasion of tax payments, failure to pay social security withholdings and self-laundering.

(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)

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