European prosecutors charge five people over alleged $20 million VAT fraud scheme

European prosecutors have indicted five people and a company for allegedly evading more than $20 million in VAT on goods imported from China, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.

After clearing the goods through customs in Czechia, the defendants allegedly claimed they had been supplied to companies elsewhere in the European Union. Investigators believe the purported buyers were fictitious and the shipments were instead sent to e-commerce logistics centers and sold to consumers across the bloc.

Four defendants and the company are accused of operating as an organized criminal group, while a fifth defendant allegedly acted independently. If convicted, the four alleged group members face prison terms of up to 13 years and four months, while the fifth defendant faces up to eight years.