Three suspects were indicted Thursday in Paris in an investigation into suspicions of VAT fraud “on a European scale relating to the resale of used vehicles”, announced in a press release the European prosecutor’s office.
The three suspects were indicted by a delegate European prosecutor, in particular on counts of money laundering committed in an organized gang and forgery, specifies the European prosecutor’s office.
According to a source close to the case, none of the three indicted has been remanded in custody, but the European prosecutor delegate in charge of the case has ordered bail against them.
Another source familiar with the matter specified that they were three Romanians, two are in their thirties and the third in his forties. Two of them are brothers and close to family.
Contact, the lawyer for the forties, Me Margaux Van der Have, did not wish to speak on the merits of the case. However, she assured that she had obtained that her client be placed under judicial control without bail.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the European public prosecutor’s office in Paris carried out seizure operations as well as the arrest of three people suspected of being involved in a VAT fraud on a European scale relating to the resale of used vehicles, is it detailed.
During the searches carried out at the homes of the suspects, three Porsche vehicles, cash, several Rolex watches, jewelry and luxury handbags were seized for an amount of more than 775,000 euros, it is specified.
Seizure operations took place simultaneously in Romania on bank accounts, reports the European public prosecutor’s office.
The investigations in France have been entrusted to the Service d’Enquêtes Judiciaux des Finances (SEJF).
Investigations are also underway in other member states participating in the EPPO, according to the statement.