Mass Tax Evasion Investigation: Constructions Industry Under Heat in Multiple Federal States
Unlawful activities in the German construction sector under scrutiny: Massive crackdown in multiple German states.
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Behind bars or on the run? Over forty locations across multiple federal states got the attention of enforcement agents this Tuesday, as they cracked down on a suspected tax evasion scheme in the construction industry. Six culprits, aged between 25 and 52, are the center of this probe, with accusations of evading social security payments and taxes totalling millions, according to joint statements made by the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office and the Dresden Main Customs Office.
The alleged violations uncovered hint at a deceitful operation: the creation of a network of companies, shell companies, and partnerships, purposefully set up in a 'carousel fraud' scheme. In this scam, phantom services or those incorrectly declared are invoiced, causing a black money cycle aimed at dodging social security and tax payments. Employees are often secretly omitted from social security registrations, or registered with artificially lowered wages, and paid off the books.
The results from this raid in Berlin, Saxony, Brandenburg, Bremen, and North Rhine-Westphalia are said to have caused damages of at least €3.5 million. Not only suspects' residences and addresses linked to potential shell companies were searched, but forty-five people illegally residing in the country were also discovered.
Documents, data carriers, mobile phones, and an intriguing find of a weapon and ammunition were confiscated. Authorities also seized two high-performance vehicles under existing arrest warrants, but no arrests were reported. Searches turned up a variety of items: documents, data carriers, mobile phones, a weapon and ammunition, and even two high-performance vehicles.
While the specific case of this large-scale construction industry tax evasion scheme is bewildering, there are some connected news items worth mentioning:
- In Nepal, the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) pressed charges against Dhruba Construction Pvt Ltd, demanding over Rs 1.2 billion for tax evasion, based on accusations of VAT and income tax shortfalls[1].
- In the U.S., a construction manager was sentenced to prison for multimillion-dollar embezzlement and tax evasion, although this incident did not feature the six suspects or allude to a large-scale construction industry raid[3].
For updates on the latest findings in this ongoing investigation, stay tuned.
[1]https://kathmandupost.com/business/2021/01/26/dri-slaps-rs-1-2-billion-damages-on-dhrubaconstruction[2]Information regarding the specific construction industry tax evasion raid could not be found in the provided search results.[3]https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/construction-manager-lakeshore-michigan-sentenced-26-years-prison-evading-more-650000
More searches in related federal countries might uncover additional suspects involved in illegal work within the construction industry, broadening the ongoing investigation. The connections between international tax evasion schemes in the construction sector and organized crime, such as 'grorazzia', could lead to new findings in general-news and crime-and-justice categories.
