Luxury Car Fraud Results in One Million Euros in Tax Evasion

In a significant operation, Austria's tax fraud investigation unit has uncovered a large-scale fraud scheme involving the trade of luxury vehicle spare parts. The perpetrators, operating throughout Austria, employed a sophisticated system of document forgery and manipulated supply chains to execute their fraudulent activities. According to the Austrian Ministry of Finance, this scheme resulted in an estimated tax evasion of approximately one million euros.

The investigation, which has been ongoing for several years, led to searches at seven locations across Vienna and Upper Austria. Authorities also initiated the closure of 34 bank accounts across five financial institutions, conducted numerous witness and suspect interviews, and issued requests for information both nationally and internationally. Additional audits and the seizure of extensive documents and data storage devices were carried out in close cooperation with the Austrian tax office.

The two accused individuals systematically evaded taxes through their limited liability company over several years. They manipulated vehicle supply chains for high-end Italian and German automobiles by inserting associated individuals into the process. Furthermore, a portion of their business transactions was intentionally omitted from their accounting records. Incoming invoices were altered to reflect inflated purchase prices or additional costs, while outgoing invoices were forged to show lower revenue figures. This method enabled the accused to divert significant profits into their personal assets without proper taxation, leading to substantial shortfalls in value-added tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, and normal consumption tax.

Moreover, several luxury vehicles were falsely declared as demonstration cars to obtain temporary exemptions from normal consumption tax and to reclaim input tax. In reality, these vehicles were utilized as personal assets. The numerous alterations and manipulations indicate a deliberate and methodical approach, which has been partially acknowledged by the accused themselves. The preliminary estimated damage amounts to nearly one million euros. Consequently, a criminal proceeding has been initiated, focusing on multiple offenses, particularly tax fraud.