Guardia Civil put an end to massive hydrocarbons fraud

IN what has been described as an ongoing and still mainly secret operation which has brought together a number of sections of the Spanish enforcement agencies, including Operational Central Unit of the Guardia Civil and regional tax offices as well as the National Fraud Office working and European agencies Eurojust and Europol, 20 people are in the process of being arrested.

It would appear that a well organised criminal gang has been involved in VAT fraud in the hydrocarbons industry and money laundering which means that officers are raiding 21 premises in seven regions of Spain with simultaneous raids in Italy and Portugal but in smaller numbers.

The investigation itself has been underway for more than a year and it appears that the crime group has been involved in not only defrauding the public and the state but has also been forcing honest groups out of business if they refused to join in on the scam.

It is likely that further arrests will take place as investigations continue.