The Tax and Customs Administration and the GNR detained eight people this Wednesday, and 83 companies were charged on suspicion of tax fraud, criminal conspiracy and money laundering in the areas of Lisbon and Leiria, the authorities said.
A joint statement from the Revenue and Customs Administration and the GNR indicated that this was a remnant of the Linhas de Torres operation carried out this Monday following a criminal case filed on suspicion of tax fraud, conspiracy and money laundering offenses. .
As part of this operation, which took place in the areas of Lisbon and Leiria, 72 search warrants were carried out, 20 of which were carried out at home, involving 31 tax and customs inspectors, two employees from the Forensic Informatics Core and 35 soldiers from the GNR Fiscal Action Division.
The statement said that between 2014 and 2022, the Department of Investigations and Criminal Affairs of Torres Vedras investigated the creation and use of several shell companies in a scheme for issuing and using false invoices with subsequent requests for VAT refunds.
The scheme allowed the suspects to receive refunds of this tax, some of which were paid by the State Treasury and others were suspended after their discovery, totaling 3.1 million euros.
Operation Linhas de Torres also seized 11 vehicles believed to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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